Mets' Jonah Tong makes case for MiLB Pitching Prospect of Year with historic output

New York Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong has a strong case to win MiLB Pitching Prospect of the Year with his historic achievements.

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The New York Mets' starting rotation has been an issue throughout the 2025 season, but there are brighter days on the horizon.

Over the last month or so, a glimpse into the future has been provided. Nolan McLean was the first of their top pitching prospects to debut, while Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat received their opportunities shortly after.

All three could be part of the major league rotation in 2026 on Opening Day, depending on how the offseason unfolds. McLean is already staking a claim as the team’s ace and there is a strong chance he takes the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series should the Mets make it.

Jonah Tong's MLB career has been up and down thus far

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As for Tong, his role in the postseason is not as clear-cut. But he has proven worthy of being considered as an integral part of a playoff run; there have been some truly elite flashes thus far, such as his most recent outing.

Pitching against the San Diego Padres, the talented righty threw five innings, allowing only four hits and zero walks while striking out eight; San Diego could only score one unearned run against him. That was a major bounce-back from his outing against the Texas Rangers when he recorded only two outs before being lifted from the game.

Dominant performances, such as the one against the Padres, were the norm in the minor leagues for Tong this year. He has a strong case to be named Minor League Baseball Pitching Prospect of the Year with how well he threw the ball before his big league promotion.

Jonah Tong made history with minor league performance

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Across 22 starts in Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse, Tong threw 113.2 innings with an ERA of 1.43. He struck out an eye-popping 179 batters, making some impressive history in the process.

Read More: Top prospect earns Mets Minor League Player of the Year Award

As shared by Jim Callis of MLB.com, Tong is the first pitcher to lead the minor leagues in ERA and strikeouts since the current system was structured in 1963. He also had the best batting average against (.148), strikeout rate (40.5%) and strikeout minus walk rate (29.9%). Those numbers were achieved with an already well-developed arsenal of pitches.

“His mid-90s fastball has tremendous carry and pairs well with his down-breaking upper-70s curveball, while his fading mid-80s Vulcan changeup has become a weapon this season,” Callis wrote.

Accomplishing this much this early in his professional career is truly impressive, as Tong was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. It took him almost no time flat to turn into one of the best pitching prospects in the game, and winning the award would only solidify his meteoric rise.