What a difference a year makes for the New York Mets. Last year at this time they were just beginning to fight out of the early-season hole they’d dug for themselves. But entering play on Tuesday, they’re 42-24 and sitting pretty at the top of the National League.
The Mets’ present status as the class of the Senior Circuit is validation for the commitment that owner Steve Cohen has made, and for the smarts exhibited by president of baseball operations David Stearns. Pete Alonso is putting up an MVP-caliber year after being re-signed this winter, while Juan Soto is beginning to come into his own after a slow start.
The real story, though, has been the pitching. The Mets have the best ERA in the Majors, and they’ve accomplished that despite not yet seeing a single pitch from either Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas, both of whom are working their way back from offseason injuries. Kodai Senga is in a back-and-forth battle with Paul Skenes for the NL Cy Young Award, while David Peterson, Griffin Canning and others have more than held up the rest of the rotation.
Down in the Minors, there’s a lot to love, too, especially from right-hander Jonah Tong. The 2022 seventh-round draft pick has been practically unhittable since giving up three runs in each of his first two starts of the season in Double-A Binghamton, pitching to a 2.02 ERA while leading the Eastern League with a ridiculous 15.2 K/9.
Tong has a fastball that can hit 97 on the radar gun, but his secret sauce is the ungodly amount of movement he gets on it. He also has a devastating 12-to-6 curveball, a tight cutter/slider and a changeup that’s especially effective against lefties. That four-pitch arsenal has helped him dominate opposing hitters, who are hitting just .137 against him.
Jonah Tong’s performance this year could have him on the fast track to the majors
It’s difficult to envision Tong staying at Double-A too long, because he seems to have already mastered the level. He tossed five innings of no-hit ball on Wednesday against the Yankees’ affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, including 11 strikeouts and three walks. But what’s even more impressive is that it wasn’t even his best start of the season.
That honor belongs to the no-hit gem he fired on May 10, when he struck out 13 of the 20 batters he faced in 6.2 perfect innings against the Reading Fightin Phils. Tong has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week twice this year, and after Wednesday’s outing, he became the first Rumble Ponies pitcher in nearly two years to earn Eastern League Pitcher of the Month honors.
Tong has said that he based his pitching mechanics on Tim Lincecum, and though he stands two inches taller than the San Francisco Giants legend, it’s easy to see shades of the two-time Cy Young winner in his delivery.
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A call-up to Triple-A Syracuse seems inevitable in the next month or so, and after that, who knows? The Mets have weathered multiple pitching injuries already this season without missing a beat, but if a few more arms get sidelined, we could see Tong at Citi Field before we know it.
Whether he gets to the bigs this year or next, Tong looks like something special — and a reason for Mets fans to divert their attention, even if just a little, from what’s already been an outstanding season.
