Jonah Tong, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors
After tearing it up in St. Lucie, Mets prospect Jonah Tong has been promoted to High-A Brooklyn.
The right-handed pitcher has been sensational in the Mets organization this season, posting a 0.00 ERA in Low-A ball with 36 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings of work. His 45.6 K-BB% ranks second amongst 267 qualified minor league pitchers. Hitters in the Florida State League managed to hit a measly .115/.194/.180 off Tong.
#Mets RHP Jonah Tong has averaged 92.8 mph on his four-seam fastball and leads FSL pitchers with 20.5 inches of IVB on average (min. 25 fastballs).
The pitch has gotten a called strike or whiff 44.4 percent of the time, and it's gotten a miss on 47.3 percent of swings. pic.twitter.com/q5T21uEJvV
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) April 22, 2024
After drafting the 20-year-old Canadian pitcher in the seventh round of the 2022, Tong struggled with his first taste of professional ball in 2023. In ten games, he pitched to a lofty 6.00 ERA in 21 innings of work and struck out 38 batters in that time, while walking 22 batters. In comparison, Tong has walked just five batters in his 18 ⅔ innings in 2024.
According to The Athletic‘s Melissa Lockard, Tong’s curveball and fastball are his best pitches. His curveball has a well-above-average spin rate and his fastball only sits around 93 mph, but misses bats with a 43.7% whiff rate.
While his velocity seems low, he’s getting an incredible break on his fastball. According to Baseball America, almost every fastball Tong throws gets above 18 inches of IVB (induced vertical break). For reference, anything above 18 is considered a plus pitch. Tong, however, has a handful of pitches in the 20+ range. (See reference image below).
Jonah Tong IVB graph
Image courtesy of Baseball America
Tong also uses a cutter and slider in his repertoire; pitches he deals predominantly to right-hand batters. He’s currently getting a 62% whiff rate off them and a 32.5% swinging strike rate from those pitches. Against lefties, Tong has found success with his changeup and curveball. It will be exciting to watch Tong continue to make improvements and adjustments as he continues to move up the organizational ladder.
