Jonah Tong is Figuring It Out Fast While Leading Minor Leagues In Strikeouts

Jonah Tong is Figuring It Out Fast While Leading Minor Leagues In Strikeouts

Watching Jonah Tong’s starts last year was a roller-coaster experience, but the one thing that came through loud and clear was that he belonged. Tong is one of the New York Mets’ top prospects, and the only thing he needed was time.

Now he’s getting that time at Triple-A Syracuse, and Tong is putting it to good use. As of Friday, Tong was leading the minor leagues in strikeouts, as he racked up eight more in five innings against Rochester while giving up just two runs, according to a report from Michael Avallone of MLB.com.

Tong took a one-hit shutout in the sixth, but he departed after giving up a leadoff homer and a walk, with both runs scoring after he left the game. He now has 52 strikeouts for the season, and he’s been jockeying back and forth with Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Seth Hernandez, although Hernandez is getting his whiffs at Triple A.

The Mets rookie has made a number of adjustments, but the biggest one that’s starting to happen is that he’s avoiding the meltdown starts that plagued him during his call-up last year. Tong had a couple of those early at Syracuse that spiked his ERA to 7.04 back on April 14, but since that time Tong has a 2.57 ERA and a 29/11 K/BB ratio in 21 frames spanning four starts, according to Avallone.

Walks have also been a problem that have kept Tong from going deeper into games, but the velocity has been impressive. Tong averaged just over 95 mph on the fastballs he threw in Friday’s start, and he’s gotten as high as 97.

Tong has also changed his repertoire a bit. He’s been throwing his change up more at 26.6 percent, Avallone added, and he’s incorporated a cutter that he’s using close to 20 percent of the time.

The rookie also has company at the top of the rotation with another starter who’s bucking for playing time at Citi Field. Jack Wenninger leads all Triple-A pitchers with an ERA of just 1.27, and both pitchers could be viable reinforcements for the back of the rotation if Kodai Senga and continue to struggle.