New York Mets’ Jonah Tong, ranked No. 48 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, had a disastrous start to his MLB career last season. He recorded a 7.71 ERA in 18.2 innings in five starts with 22 strikeouts in September, after producing stellar numbers in the minor leagues.
Tong has had a high release point throughout his career because of his 6’1” lean frame and managed a 64.4-degree arm angle, the eighth-highest in the MLB in 2025. However, the Mets seemed unhappy with the 22-year-old’s pitching arsenal, which is heavily reliant on the fastball and a changeup with a horizontal-moving slider and a curveball to throw around.
The Athletic’s Keith Law reported, in his Top 100 Prospects column on Jan. 26, that they were looking to develop a sweeper. Former Met Jerry Blevins took exception to it during his appearance on SNY TV on Jan. 28, asking the Mets not to alter anything about Tong.
“I really don’t like them messing with his repertoire, especially trying to get a guy that has such a high release point,” Blevins said. “I’m talking top five release points—top three. He’s so high over the top. To get a sweeper involved, he would have to change his mechanics to wrap around that ball. That’s a hard pitch to do when you’re over the top, and I just don’t really like them trying to tweak it.”
Tong’s high delivery allows him a high 19.8 induced vertical break on his fastball that helps him strike out batters. If the Canadian has to develop a vertical-moving slider or sweeper, he will have to alter parts of his delivery that could mess with his fastball.
“He’s 22, I think September was kind of a blip on the radar for how ineffective he was,” Blevins added. “I think it was just a ‘happy to be here,’ deer-in-the-headlights moment for a guy who’s electric. He’s had tremendous success with the combination that he has. He has an elite rise fastball that’s not overpowering, but it has incredible movement up. He has a very good curveball, which he didn’t have feel for in September when he got called up.”
Blevins opined that an area where the New York Mets could further develop Jonah Tong’s abilities is his changeup, which is his secondary pitch, modeled after former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. The changeup has a mid-80s velocity.
“If you’re going to work on anything, I think it’s dialing in that changeup to where it’s got a consistent release point,” Blevins said. “Let the kid pitch. Let him figure out how to be effective. Don’t try to tweak his repertoire to mess with his mechanics too much.”
Jonah Tong rose from the Low-A in 2024 to the MLB rotation by the end of 2025. In 2024, in three different minor leagues, he managed a 3.03 ERA in 113.0 innings pitched. But what caught everyone’s eye was his 34.2% strikeout rate, which rose to 40.5% in 2025 when he went 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A affiliate) and Syracuse Mets (Triple-A).
Jonah Tong Will Miss World Baseball Classic for Team Canada
Sportsnet insider Shi Davidi reported on Jan. 28 on his X account that Jonah Tong will sit out of the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He was hoping to represent his country, Team Canada, but the Markham, Ontario, native has chosen to prioritize the Mets’ Spring Training camp as he looks to make the Opening Day roster.
Tong’s teammate and top Mets prospect Nolan McLean will feature in the Team USA rotation alongside Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal. He is not the first Mets player to announce his unavailability. On Saturday, Francisco Lindor announced he will not be there at the WBC to captain Team Puerto Rico. Their new teammate, Bo Bichette, has also refused to play for Team Brazil.
