Mets’ Continued Optimism in Jonah Tong Speaks Volumes for Young Pitcher’s Future

With the MLB trade deadline now in the rearview mirror, New York Mets fans are looking ahead to next season, spending the remainder of 2026 considering which players or prospects down in the minors could be part of the solution in 2027.

One player fans were hoping would play a role this season is starting pitcher Jonah Tong. The 23-year-old Tong is currently playing at Triple-A Syracuse, as he’s appeared in three games in the big leagues this season. In his three appearances, Tong had a 3.60 ERA, which is better than he showed last year in the majors (2-3 record, 7.71 ERA in five starts).

Needless to say, fans have been keeping tabs on Tong, who is New York’s No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. Tong made headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this week, as he got hammered in his latest start against the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate).

The right-handed starting pitcher surrendered six runs (five earned), five home runs, and a walk, while only striking out three in five innings of work. As you can only imagine, Mets fans were in a panic, as this is the last thing they want to see with the season already on a downward spiral.

However, Mets manager Andy Green isn’t ready to throw in the towel yet on the kid and still believes in him.

Two outings ago, it was sensational. It was kinda vintage Jonah. I think he went five [innings] and punched out nine, Green said (h/t SNY Mets). Then this last outing was one of the weirder outings I’ve seen a box score for. You give up five hits and five home runs. We’re paying close attention to Jonah. He’s someone we still very much believe in. I think he’s had some stretches now to be really excited about. It’s a matter of putting it together consistently.

Mets not ready to sound the alarm on Jonah Tong after latest start

The fact that Green, who is also speaking on behalf of the organization, isn’t sounding the alarm and is still showing faith in Tong is a good sign.

While no one wants to see a starting pitcher get lit up for five home runs, it’s bound to happen a few times during their career. Before that outing, Tong was coming off a solid July with a 2-0 record and a 3.65 ERA in five starts. This was an improvement from June when he returned from his major league stint (0-2 record, 6.50 ERA, and .343 opponents’ batting average in four starts).

Last month, he allowed 19 hits, 14 walks, 10 earned runs (four home runs), and struck out 29 in 24.2 innings pitched. He also held opponents to a .214 batting average.

This season at Triple-A, Tong has a 3-6 record and a 5.46 ERA in 19 starts, which is nothing to write home about.

However, his metrics show that it’s too early to panic or close the book on Tong. According to Prospect Savant, Tong’s strikeout rate is ranked in the 71st percentile at 27.1% and whiff rate in the 61st percentile at 28.4%.

The right-handed pitcher’s hard-hit rate is at 43%, and barrel rate is only 10.9%. This tells me he’s getting guys out and not giving up a lot of hard contact, which is good.

Now, in his start against Columbus, Ernest Dove on Twitter/X highlighted that Tong allowed homers on his fastball, changeup, and curveball.

According to Prospect Savant, the young hurler doesn’t use the curve often (13.8%), and for good reason, as it has a hard-hit rate of 46.43% (highest among all his pitches). As for the four-seam, Tong uses it the most at 47.6%, and it gets hit around (42.05% hard-hit rate).

If you’re the Mets, you likely want to see those rates come down a little bit more. But with all that being said, it’s not the end of the world for Tong. Those types of starts will happen from time to time.

However, the hope is that this start doesn’t become a recurring issue, which will lead to more questions about Tong’s future. But for now, the Mets are still showing faith in him, which will only help him as he tries to get back to the majors.

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