Mets calling up No. 4 prospect Tong, Minors K & ERA leader

NEW YORK -- Jonah Tong, the Minor League strikeout and ERA leader and one of the most exciting pitching prospects the Mets have developed in years, is about to make his Major League debut.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Tuesday that the Mets will call up Tong to start Friday against the Marlins, giving the rookie a chance to assert himself at the big league level in the midst of a playoff race. Tong, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, is the Mets’ No. 4 prospect and No. 44 overall, per MLB Pipeline. His promotion comes just two weeks after he reached Triple-A Syracuse for the first time.

“This went fast for Jonah,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “But to his credit, he really conquered everything we put in front of him. He exceeded our expectations throughout this year, and he put himself in a position where he deserved to be considered for a day like this.”

At the start of last season, Tong, the Mets’ seventh-round Draft pick in 2022, did not rank among the organization’s Top 30 prospects. A hot start to 2024 changed that for Tong, who has since rocketed up prospect lists around the industry.

This season, Tong broke camp at Double-A Binghamton, producing a 1.59 ERA over 20 starts there to earn a mid-August promotion. Over two outings at Syracuse, he threw 11 2/3 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts and three walks. Following the second of them, Mets officials began seriously discussing another promotion.

“It’s all about him dominating the Minor Leagues,” Mendoza said. “You could make a case, ‘All right, Double-A, you want to give him a competitive look at the Triple-A level.’ But, man, a couple of outings -- it’s hard to keep him there.”

Tong’s promotion comes two weeks after the Mets made a similar move with their No. 3 prospect, Nolan McLean, who has since produced a 1.46 ERA over his first two Major League starts. But Tong is not McLean. He is two years younger with different strengths, a different repertoire and a different path to the Majors.

“He might be an outlier. Legitimately,” said one rival scout who saw Tong pitch earlier this season.

For Tong, the key is an over-the-top, whip-like delivery that produces upper-90s heat and has earned him comparisons to two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Tong’s arsenal also includes a Vulcan changeup that induced a 50 percent whiff rate over his two starts at Syracuse, as well as a curveball and a slider. The Ontario native’s nickname is “The Canadian Cannon.” His 179 strikeouts lead the Minor Leagues by a massive margin.

“He earned it, man. He earned it,” Mendoza said of the promotion. “I’m excited. We are all excited.”

Despite all of it, the Mets only called up Tong because their team needs intersected with his readiness. Amid a season-long stretch of 16 games in 16 days, Mets officials wanted to insert a sixth starter to give everyone else an extra day of rest. When the Mets tried to pitch Kodai Senga on four days’ rest Monday for the first time since 2023, he responded with a brief and ineffective outing.

Given how late it is in the season, the Mets were also uninterested in promoting older, more experienced but lower-ceilinged options such as Justin Hagenman or Brandon Waddell. That left only Tong and No. 5 prospect Brandon Sproat as reasonable options. A few weeks ago, Sproat would have been the favorite, but he has produced a 7.62 ERA over his last three outings. During that time, Tong leapfrogged him on the organizational depth chart.

Now, the question becomes how long Tong will stick around. Unlike when the Mets promoted McLean, they do not currently have a long-term opening in their rotation. Both Stearns and Mendoza defined this as a start-to-start proposition, meaning if Tong pitches well, he should stay in a rotation that’s ranked 25th in the Majors in ERA since June 14.

If not, the Mets could consider other options for Tong, including a bullpen role or a ticket back to Triple-A. With 31 games left in their season, the Mets intend to run their pitching staff as a meritocracy from here on out.

“I’m going to be honest -- performance matters,” Mendoza said. “We’re to a point now where we’ve got to see performance.”

“As you roll into the last month of the season, you want to have the best roster you possibly can,” Stearns added. “We think Jonah has a chance to be among that. He’s earned the opportunity. And so we’re going to give him this start and look forward to seeing how far it goes.”