The New York Mets are taking a significant step to address a key area of need, calling up their top pitching prospect, Jonah Tong, despite the fact that he has only made two starts with their Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Mets, this season.
Tong, 22, was called up to the Mets on Aug. 26, per a post from The Athletic reporter Will Sammon on his X account.
The Mets are promoting pitching prospect Jonah Tong, league sources tell The Athletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) August 26, 2025
Tong is Chinese-Canadian and he took a unique path to the Mets, growing up in Markham, Ontario and moving to the United States, where he was drafted out of Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro, Ga.
The fact that the Mets have seen success with another rookie right-handed pitcher, Nolan McLean (12 1/3 innings, 15 strikeouts, 1.46 ERA) in his first two Major League Baseball starts, may have made the decision to call Tong up easier.
His call-up comes at a time when the Mets’ starting rotation is in serious need of reinforcements, with the rotation having thrown the sixth-fewest innings pitched by starters in MLB — just 656 innings through 131 games, an average of just five innings per game. Their rotation has been impacted by the loss of Griffin Canning and Frankie Montas for the season due to injuries, and they have also released Paul Blackburn. Tylor Megill could be on his way back soon and will likely make his fourth rehab start with the Syracuse Mets tomorrow.
David Peterson has performed the best this season, and he leads the Mets in strikeouts, innings pitched, and has the lowest ERA. Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga have both battled injuries and inconsistent play, but their rotation spots are pretty secure as long as they stay healthy. Clay Holmes has pitched 137 innings, and he has nearly doubled his career-high of 70 coming into this season, though move back out to the bullpen can’t be ruled out.
There is always the outside possibility that they could go with a six-man rotation to help Senga and Holmes recover better. Tong could very well remain in the rotation down the stretch as long as he shows that he can handle MLB hitters and doesn’t get tired at the end of the year.
Tong pitched with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, for the majority of the season and spoke to the media before their game against the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, in Bridgewater, N.J., on Aug. 7.
His performance in Double-A this season was incredible as he led all of Minor League Baseball with 162 strikeouts in 102 innings, and he also had the lowest ERA at 1.59. At the time, he seemed long overdue for a promotion to Triple-A, and he was asked if he thought about the next steps in his career.
“I can’t really think about it because that part is not up to me, and I get it all so I’m just going to be where my feet are,” Tong told the Media. “Not really, it’s easy when you think of it that way, and you can just control the controllables. I can’t really complain on that side.”
Tong got promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 11, the day after the series with the Patriots ended. He was lights out in two Triple-A starts with 17 strikeouts in 11 2/3 scoreless innings. He still leads the minor leagues with 179 strikeouts and has the lowest ERA of 1.43 among qualified pitchers this season.
“It’s been outstanding and fun to watch his evolution. I just love how he goes about his work, and his attention in the bullpen is really professional,” Reid Brignac, the manager of the Binghamton Mets, said on Aug. 7.
World Baseball Network asked Brignac about what Tong could do to improve and how rewarding it is for him to send guys to the next level.
“I think it just takes time; he just needs to refine his slider shape a little bit. His fastball and changeup have been excellent this year,” Brignac told World Baseball Network
“That’s why we do this job to help develop players and get them ready to help our Major League ballclub win ball games,” Brignac told World Baseball Network. “We have another wave of talented players that are knocking on the door.”
Yankees’ top prospect infielder George Lombard Jr. also spoke to the media on Aug. 7, and he weighed in on Tong’s development from 2023 when he first faced him in Low-A to now.
“He’s a competitor, he has great stuff, and I always love facing guys like that because it’s a great challenge and it brings the best out of both of us.” Lombard Jr. told the media. “He’s definitely throwing harder. When guys go through a year or two in the system, you kind’ve just learn and become a better pitcher in his case.”
Tong will make his Major League Baseball debut on Friday, August 29, at Citi Field against the Miami Marlins, the Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told the media pregame on August 26
Photo: Jonah Tong has rapidly progressed from the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies to the New York Mets.
