Prized pitching prospect Jonah Tong set for MLB debut with Mets after rapid rise through minors

NEW YORK (AP) — A few years ago, Jonah Tong was an undersized teenager from Markham, Ont., just hoping to find a place to play college ball.

North Dakota State and Maine — not exactly big league hotbeds — were his best bets at the time. … Brrrr!

Now, he’s about to make his highly anticipated MLB debut in the heat of a pennant race on center stage in New York City.

When the 22-year-old Tong takes the mound Friday night for the New York Mets against Miami, it will culminate a rapid and extraordinary rise from seventh-round draft pick to one of baseball’s best pitching prospects.

“It’s incredible,” Tong said Thursday in the Mets’ clubhouse. “It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid.”

After only two outings with Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets are promoting Tong to face the Marlins at Citi Field as New York tries to chase down the first-place Phillies in the NL East and expand its lead for the final National League wild card.

During a stretch of 16 games without a day off, the Mets wanted to insert a sixth starter this time through the rotation — and Tong dominated minor league hitters so thoroughly that he became the choice even sooner than expected.

The right-hander was completely surprised when he received the news from Syracuse manager Dick Scott a few days ago, just after throwing a bullpen.

“Definitely a crazy day, but it was awesome,” a smiling Tong said.

He called his mom and dad separately, and his father was so busy at work all he could offer was a quick congratulations over the phone before sending a longer written message later.

Tong said his parents, grandfather, aunt, uncle, agent and girlfriend will all be in attendance Friday along with his first professional pitching coach, Garrett Baker.

Depending upon performance, Tong could remain in the Mets’ rotation down the stretch.

“I’m just getting ready to start tomorrow, and everything after that will take care of itself,” he said.

It’s the second time in two weeks New York has decided to call up a top pitching prospect from Syracuse.

Nolan McLean made his MLB debut Aug. 16 against Seattle and has provided a major boost, going 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA and 21 strikeouts while becoming the first Mets pitcher to win his first three big league starts.

“He’s done a heck of a job,” Tong said. “He’s incredible. I think that I’m just going to go up there and be myself, and I have confidence that’s going to be enough.”

Tong’s new No. 21 jersey hung from his locker Thursday in a corner of the Mets’ clubhouse, separated by one stall from the No. 26 worn by McLean.

“It’s always good to get the youth in there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before his team’s 7-4 loss to Miami. “Familiar faces, new faces, it creates a little bit of competition as well within that room — which is important.

“So, I always see it as a positive, and that’s what we’re seeing here with McLean. And hopefully that’s the same case with Jonah.”

If he was nervous about his upcoming debut, Tong certainly didn’t show it while answering questions from reporters. Seemingly at ease, he displayed a sense of humour and recounted his unorthodox career path.

Tong, born and raised in Canada, travelled all the way to Georgia Premier Academy and the MLB Draft League to showcase his talents as a teenager. He was selected by the Mets in the 2022 amateur draft and really started to take off in the minors last year, when he pitched at three levels.

“It’s definitely not for everybody. It’s definitely not like, I would say, the path I had growing up. I was even reflecting on it last night: My whole goal coming out of high school was to just get to college,” Tong said. “And then it was just, opportunities kept on happening.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, the baby-faced Tong said he’s gained 25 pounds since he was drafted — and it shows in his sturdy upper legs.

“That helps. I was small as a kid who was just barely trying to find his way through,” Tong said. “I got a lot less comments about how skinny I was.”

This season, Tong went 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA and 162 strikeouts against 44 walks in 20 starts covering 102 innings at Double-A Binghamton. He was promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 11 and encountered little trouble there, too, going 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 scoreless innings.

That left him leading all minor league pitchers in ERA and strikeouts this year. And his overpowering fastball earned him a nickname at Binghamton, with a signature T-shirt to go with it: The Canadian Cannon.

“That was a huge surprise,” he said. “I think it was cool.”

Tong is rated the Mets’ No. 4 prospect, one spot behind McLean, and 44th overall in baseball by MLB Pipeline.

With his slight build and drastic over-the-top delivery, Tong has often drawn comparisons to Tim Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner and four-time All-Star with the Giants who pitched in the majors from 2007-16.

“There’s deception there because of the way the ball comes out, and there’s funk to it,” Mendoza said. “Hitters are not used to seeing that type of delivery.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press