MACK - Let's Revisit - RHSP - Jonah Tong
Jonah Tong is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher for the New York Mets (born June 19, 2003, in Markham, Ontario, Canada; 6'1", 180 lbs). He’s a Canadian (half-Chinese on his father’s side) who was selected by the Mets in the 7th round (209th overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school (Bill Crothers Secondary School / Georgia Premier Academy) after committing to North Dakota State. He signed and rose rapidly through the system. Career Path and Performance
- Minors breakout: He dominated in 2024–2025. In 2025 he posted a 1.43 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A (113.2 IP, 179 K, leading the minors in strikeouts at the time of his call-up), earning Baseball America Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors and Futures Game recognition. He was a top Mets prospect (often ranked No. 2–5 overall in the system, top-50-ish industry-wide at peaks).
- MLB debut (2025): Called up in late August 2025, he made five starts and went 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA (18.2 IP, 22 K, 9 BB). He had strong moments (e.g., debut win vs. Marlins: 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 K; another strong outing vs. Padres) but struggled with inconsistency and some defensive support issues.
- 2026: Started the year optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Recalled in late May for three bulk-relief appearances (3.60 ERA in 10 IP) before being optioned again in early June due to command issues and inefficiency. Overall Triple-A numbers have been uneven (ERA around the mid-4s to mid-5s earlier, inflated by a few bad outings and home runs), but he has turned it around strongly of late: roughly 2.00–2.20 ERA over recent stretches (including a near no-hitter/one-hit shutout over 7 innings in late August with 8 K). Walks remain a concern at times, but stuff and results have improved.
- 2026 thru Aug - AAA: 5-6, 4.54, 1.37, 23-ST, 107-IP, 126-K
- Four-seam fastball (primary pitch, often 50–60% usage): Mid-to-upper 90s (sits ~93–96 mph, touches 97–99). Elite “ride”/induced vertical break (historically ~19–20+ inches IVB in peak minors/MLB samples—among the highest in the game), with some cut. Plays up high in the zone for swings and misses; extension makes it play even harder. Grade often 60.
- Changeup (key secondary, often 20–30%+ usage): Mid-80s (around 84–87 mph). Vulcan/modified grip (developed/refined with Mets input, sometimes described as two-seam Vulcan or horseshoe orientation). Excellent separation from the fastball (lower IVB, armside run/fade), generating high whiff rates (often 50%+ in strong minor-league samples) and chase. Became a standout pitch in 2025 and remains a major weapon (elite xwOBA in some samples). Grade often 55–60.
- Curveball: Upper-70s (mid-to-high 70s, ~75–79 mph). Big 12–6 “downer” with heavy vertical drop (can show massive inches of break). Tunnels well with the rising fastball for the north-south effect. Usage varies (around 10–15% in some looks); more of a show-me or putaway pitch at times.
- Cutter / slider variations: He has added and refined hard cutters (low-to-mid 90s, ~90–92+ mph in recent looks—hard for the pitch type) and shorter/harder slider shapes (upper-80s or so) as bridge pitches. These help vs. same-side hitters and provide east-west movement to complement the primarily vertical arsenal. Cutter usage has increased notably in 2026 (teens of percent in some samples) as a development focus; earlier slider usage was lower. These are works in progress but add depth.
Any word?
ReplyDeleteTobias Myers will be coming up.
ReplyDeleteWonderful
DeleteNope, sorry. It is Hagenmen. Stearns loves the scrubs and the AAAA players, LOLLL. I don’t know what to say about this team.
DeleteWhat?
DeleteNo Duda?
I’ve called Stearns a waster of money and a waster of prospects. I’ve called him spineless in not firing a failing manager because he’s a nice guy. I’ve called him impressive at times. Honestly, he must have his reasons for doing things, but starting next year, I don’t want to see AAAA players on the team no more. No Stocks with their one on and one off starts, no Tommy Phams, no Paches unless he plans to play him, and no Wagemens and Hagemens. Through Alderson and Stearns, we have had a dozen years of dumpster diving and it’s depressing.
DeleteI would have thought Tong pitching lights out for over a month to mean something but maybe they are targeted to the lottery thingy
ReplyDeleteStearns is a head scratcher, and a rump scratcher. I will not go further.
ReplyDeleteThey are keeping Tong in the minors, with the intent of turning him into a submarine pitcher next year. 2028, he will learn the knuckler and how to pitch behind his back
Gus
ReplyDeleteStearns exists because Cohen likes him
Stearns is a very rich hedge fund manager that doesn't apply the same rules and standards to his hobby (Mets) than his business (stocks)
I mean Cohen
ReplyDeleteI would not be surprised if there was a little tanking going on here. Hagenman has less upside in promotion than Tong. Tong has figured out the problem with arm slot and can continue to work on his delivery in the minors rather than risk a regression in confidence.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if this will be seen but ...
ReplyDeleteDoes Tong still have his status as a rookie? Could that play in part to his not being called up?
Not sure how it works is there is a strike next year. He is on the 40 man roster bit still in AAA at year end. If there is a strike, will he be able to pitch in AAA and continue development?
He still has rookie status.
DeleteDylan Ross has been called up.
ReplyDeleteI ddidn't see the point of bringing Tong up now..He's in the rebuilding confidence state and getting comfortable with his arsenal and still figuring out how to manage it. No time to be in the majors pitching against teams in the playoff hunt.
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell me when these reports talk about 'extension' what are they referring to. Which part of the body. In Tong's case,, his health concerns are the result of extreme extension of his torso/back combined with bend of his lumbar spine. Is torso extension what they are referring to?
I had not mentioned this before but the control/command issues are also almost certainly owed to the extent of the mix of extreme extension of upper spine and extreme lumbar spine bend.. The brain knows that hurts and doesn't want you to keep repeating it, so it organizes your movements in ways that you were not expecting when you formed your intentions viz a viz the pitch you were about to throw.
I know this sounds a bit mysterious, but it is all true. Part of this I know from my own experience pitching. You get a sign from the catcher you agree with. You see the target long before the glove presents it, and your brain runs a visual of how the pitch you are throwing gets to the targe. Ok so far? Then your body moves to execute. But in all movements, your body organizes itself to complete the movement., but it may not do so as you imagine it -- sometimes because it can't and other times because it won''t. And when it won't it is often because it organizes to avoid stress or pain. So there is a mismatch between intention and result.
And this is a major reason why pitchers struggle with control. There are others I am happy to discuss if anyone is interested.
The problem is mitigated once the pitcher changes the image of how the pitch gets to the target, because he has internalized and learned and revised his understanding of how is body self organizes around throwing that pitch. This is part of the amazing story of the human brain and much more including how the body works for bipodal vertebra animals, and it is genuinely fascinating area of research at the intersection of biology, neuroscience etc. The pitcher doesn't have to know any of the science for his movements to be explained by it. The adjustment between the pitcher's prior understanding of how his body organizes and how in fact it does is almost never conscious but it can have conscious aspects. We've been witnesses to this process in Tong's case all season. It's by no means completed yet.