New York Mets‘ prospect Jonah Tong is making waves in the minor league system and created a splash on Aug. 23 with a dominant performance for the Syracuse Mets. Tong shut out the Indianapolis Indians through six innings in his second start at the AAA level. He struck out eight and walked just one in the outing.
At just 22 years old, Tong has risen through ease through the Mets farm system in the last couple of years, leading to his call up to AAA two weeks ago. In his 11 and two-thirds innings pitched so far in Syracuse, he hasn’t allowed any runs and has 17 strikeouts. Before he was called up, he had spent the entire season with AA Binghamton where he had a 1.59 ERA in 102 innings pitched with a staggering 162 strikeouts.
With the MLB rosters set to expand on Sept. 1, Tong is making the case that he deserves a spot with the big boys through his performance.
Do the Mets Need Reinforcement From Tong?
The Mets pitching rotation has been around the middle of the pack all season. David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes a have all been reliable by-in-large, but Sean Manaea has been rocky in the month of August. Nolan McLean has been a good reinforcement in his two starts, but adding someone like Tong, even in the bullpen could be a huge boost to the Mets playoff push.
If they did call up Tong, someone would have to be pushed to the bullpen to maintain five starters in the rotation. Manaea has the potential to be a good long-relief option if he continues to falter as a starter. There’s no such thing as having too many bullpen arms come playoff time.
Calling Tong up would not only give some other guys a much needed breather, but would also give Tong some MLB experience before he ideally ends up in their starting rotation for years to come.
Mets Continue to Battle to Hold Wild Card Spot
The Mets currently sit in the final wild card spot in the National League. The only real threat that remains is the suddenly streaking Cincinnati Reds, who are just two and a half games back. The Mets will face the Reds during the first week of September, so the next week is huge. The Mets need to win enough games between now and when they face the Reds so that a series loss doesn’t put them on the wrong side of the playoff picture.
The Mets and the Reds have two of the hardest schedules remaining. 19 of the Mets final 33 games are against teams currently in a playoff spot, which includes seven games against their division rival Philadelphia Phillies.
Cincinnati has the second hardest remaining schedule in the MLB, where they will play the Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres, Mets and Cardinals. Those series make up 25 of their final 32 games, which is a good break for the Mets who will have to hope that the Reds can’t overcome a ridiculously hard schedule.
Mets Pitching Prospect Makes Strong Push for Callup After ‘Electric Start’