A general view of the New York Mets hats for St' Patrick's Day against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 17. Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

New York Mets Prized Prospect Now Leads Minor Leagues in Strikeouts

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 3:47 PM ET

New York Mets top prospect Jonah Tong is putting together an incredible season at Double-A Binghamton, and now he's now leading the entire minor leagues in strikeouts.

Per Baseball America, Tong has 91 punchouts in just 54.1 innings. According to MLB Pipeline, he is the No. 96 prospect in the sport. He was a seventh-round pick out of Georgia Premier Academy in the 2022 draft and is projected to make his major league debut in 2026.

Jonah Tong now leads the minors with 91 strikeouts in 54.1 innings

The Mets RHP has been one of the biggest rising pitching prospects in all of baseball this season.

( @MetsPlayerDev)

pic.twitter.com/ak3W0ovp0X
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 11, 2025

In addition to his gaudy strikeout totals, he's also gone 5-3 with a 1.99 ERA through 11 starts. He's allowed just two home runs and opponents are hitting only .143 against him. It's certainly possible that he earns a Triple-A promotion soon, and he could even be an option at the big-league level as the Mets chase the National League East title.

The following on his deceptive pitch mix from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Standing at 6-foot-1, Tong can look like the second coming of Tim Lincecum with his deceptive over-the-top delivery and good extension. His fastball only shows average velocity in the 91-94 mph range, but it plays well above that with elite induced vertical break (averaging above 20 inches in front of Statcast cameras in the FSL). He plays off that high pitch with a 74-76 mph curveball that he can drop in (with above 65 inches of vertical drop) for early strikes or tunnel off the heater for a K

The Mets will host the Washington Nationals at 7:10 p.m. ET as David Peterson (NYM) pitches against Jake Irvin (WAS). New York is 43-24.

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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