A Closer Look at Jonah Tong’s Tumultuous Season

The New York Mets and Marlins faced off in a relatively meaningless Labor Day matchup this week in Miami. Both teams are on the outside looking in for the postseason and will conclude their respective seasons over the next few weeks.

The headline in New York’s 9-4 victory was the winning pitcher, Jonah Tong.

Tong tossed five innings, surrendering four runs on four hits while striking out seven. Certainly not a sparkling start by any means, nor does it qualify as a quality start by the statistical standard, but it is a major accomplishment in the right-hander’s development.

After rocketing through the minor leagues last year and earning a late-August call-up to the majors, Tong’s stock has steadily declined. Not only did he stumble through five starts in the show last year, but he has also struggled for the entirety of this season at Triple-A Syracuse.

It has not been anything remotely close to the type of season the Mets had hoped to get out of Tong in 2026, but Monday afternoon showed that there is still hope for the future.

Analyzing Tong’s 2026 Season

The main concern surrounding Tong after last season was whether or not he could find a way to add an effective putaway pitch to his repertoire.

His primary four-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s, but due to Tong’s loose, over-the-top delivery, it has great run, especially up in the zone. He pairs that offering with a solid changeup that bottoms out and is effective against hitters from both sides of the plate.

The roadblock for Tong has been finding that third pitch to round out his arsenal. His curveball was feasted on in the majors last year, so he has shied away from that pitch. In the minors this season, he has tinkered with a cutter and slider but has yet to find a firm solution to the issue.

The 23-year-old pitched to a 4.54 ERA in 107 innings at the Triple-A level this season. Tong’s poor performance has been a direct result of constantly tinkering with his arsenal in an attempt to find that elusive putaway offering.

The constant tinkering has affected him as a whole, altering his mechanics and game plan in an attempt to find his way back onto the major league roster.

His best outing of the season at Triple-A came on August 29, exactly a year removed from his major league debut, when he tossed seven scoreless innings. That performance, along with a handful of promising ones before it, was enough for New York to insert Tong back into the rotation.

Tong started fast in Monday afternoon’s start, fanning the side in the first inning while pounding the zone with his heater and using the changeup to induce whiffs.