The New York Mets announced on Tuesday, March 10, that right-hander Jonah Tong has been sent to Triple-A. The 22-year-old was tagged for three earned runs across 2.2 innings in Spring Training action.
MLB.com ranks Tong as the No. 3 prospect in the Mets’ organization, behind only fellow righty Nolan McLean and outfielder Carson Benge. McLean is expected to be in the big-league rotation when New York heads to Opening Day on Thursday, March 26, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s also representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and is slated to start against Team Italy. Benge is competing for the right field job with Tyrone Taylor and Brett Baty.
Tong heading to the minor leagues for more seasoning isn’t a huge surprise. He scuffled to a 7.71 ERA in five starts in the majors last season. The talented right-hander will be a candidate for the rotation if injuries or poor performance impact the Mets’ pitching staff.
New York Mets Send Jonah Tong to Triple-A
Tong is coming off a dominant campaign in the minor leagues. He delivered 113.2 innings of a 1.43 ERA in 22 starts between Double-A and Triple-A. Tong posted a massive 40.8% strikeout rate with Binghamton, then maintained a strong 37.8% mark after getting the bump to Syracuse. The righty’s lowest strikeout rate across a full season in the minors is the 34.2% he put up at three stops in 2024.
The Mets selected Tong in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. He scuffled at the lowest levels of the minors in his first professional season, but took off the following year. Tong opened the 2024 campaign with 18.2 scoreless innings at Single-A. He earned a promotion to High-A, where he put together a 3.71 ERA across 19 starts. Tong closed that season with two solid appearances at Double-A.
Tong relied on a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s changeup during his brief big-league stint. He has a unique over-the-top delivery. Tong unsurprisingly ranked in the 83rd percentile for extension. The changeup and curveball performed relatively well, but Tong’s heater was tagged for a .356 batting average and a .600 SLG. All three of the home runs he allowed came off of the fastball.
Who Will Be in the Mets’ Rotation in 2026?
The Mets swung one of the biggest trades of the offseason to land their top starter. Freddy Peralta will headline the rotation after coming over from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. McLean will likely slot in behind Peralta. The 24-year-old was stellar over his first eight MLB starts, notching a 2.06 ERA with a 30.3% strikeout rate. He emerged from the trio that included Tong and Sproat as the top option among the Mets’ pitching prospects.
The rest of the rotation has question marks, both in terms of age and health. David Peterson will be back with the club on an $8.1 million deal agreed to via arbitration. He made a career-high 30 starts in 2025. Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea both got off to decent starts last season, before fading badly down the stretch. They closed the campaign largely in piggyback roles. The oft-injured Kodai Senga will round out the group. It’s a depth chart that Tong could easily climb if he’s pitching well in the minors.
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