King Tong vs. the Canadian Cannon

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The story behind Jonah Reid Tin Chee Matthew Tong’s first name is a pretty good one. In 1979, Jonah’s mother Karen got a look at new San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and liked what she saw. Around twenty years or so later, Karen and her husband Alex were expecting their first child, a girl. Karen suggested the name “Montana”. Alex acquiesced. For the third kid, a boy this time, Karen suggested “Joe”. As Karen remembered it to Tim Healey of Newsday last March, Alex didn’t say no so much as give Karen a side-eye glance. As a compromise, Karen suggested Jonah instead. Alex didn’t realize how similar Joe and Jonah were until Jonah was a few months old. Too late, sucker. 

In any event, Jonah was born in June 2003 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. When he was 14 with a team called the Toronto Mets, funnily enough, Tong wanted to continue to play the outfield. His coach told him the brutal truth: he wasn’t much of a hitter. So they put him on the mound to pitch, and the rest is history. 

By the time Tong was in 12th grade, he was ranked the 57th best player in Ontario, Tong only got two Division 1 offers to play for their baseball squad - North Dakota State and Maine University. Jonah chose the former. He took a gap year and pitched for the Frederick Keys in the MLB Development League. The Mets liked what they saw and drafted him in the 7th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. So much for college. 

In 2023, Tong pitched for the Mets in the Florida Gulf Coast League and then with the Low-A St. Lucie Mets. His numbers weren’t impressive at all. For the GCL Mets he went 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA. For St. Lucie, a slightly better 5.40 earned run average. So he started 2024 still in St. Lucie. After four appearances where he struck out 36 of the 68 batters he faced, Tong was promoted to High-A Brooklyn. He spent most of the year there, making 19 starts for the Cyclones. He went 5-4 with a 3.71 ERA. Jonah was promoted to Double-A Binghamton to make two starts at the end of the season, as a treat. He got a no-decision in both contests as a Rumble Pony.

Tong made a massive leap forward in 2025. For Binghamton, he went 8-5 with a ridiculous 1.59 ERA in 102 innings pitched. On May 10th, he threw six and two thirds perfect innings before being pulled due to his pitch count. He was finally promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in August, and then after two starts there was rushed into the big leagues on August 29th because the Mets were desperate for decent and/or healthy starting pitching. 

Tong’s first career start in The Show was absurdly fun. The Mets scored 12 runs in the first two innings for Jonah, who finished with five shutout innings against the Marlins. It kind of set an impossible standard. He finished the season with a 2-3 record and an ugly 7.71 ERA. The good news is his FIP was just 4.31. That and he’s only 22 years old. 

During the offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers asked for Jonah in a potential trade that would send Freddy Peralta to the Mets. The Mets wouldn’t part with him, eventually agreeing to deal fellow rookie pitcher Brandon Sproat to Milwaukee instead. It says a lot about how high Mets brass thinks this kid’s ceiling is. 

Jonah Tong threw a live BP yesterday. All eight minutes of it is available on YouTube. 

Freddy Peralta decided not to participate in the upcoming World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. He said it was the “best thing” for him to do and it wasn’t an easy decision. The WBC rosters will be officially announced today. 

Friend of the Newsletter Keith Raad hosted the debut episode of Mets Rewind with guests David Wright and Daniel Murphy. They watched 45 minutes of the clinching game of the 2015 NLCS. 

The Mets ended up with seven dudes on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 prospect list. Nolan McLean (#4), OF Carson Benge (#10), Jonah Tong (#23), CF A.J. Ewing (#38), 3B/OF Jacob Reimer (#70), 1B Ryan Clifford (#86), and RHP Will Watson (#96)

Anthony DiComo wrote a primer on Mets spring training. 

Get to know prospect RHP Zachery Mack aka Zack Mack why don’t ya?

A Pittsburgh radio guy claimed that his sources are telling him that the Mets and Pirates are engaged in trade talks. Pittsburgh is aiming for either Brett Baty or Mark Vientos. I don’t necessarily buy this report, but I will say I’d be shocked if Baty is moved and Vientos isn’t. Baty can seemingly play anywhere on the diamond, and Vientos is the exact opposite. Which one do you think David Stearns values more? 

There was a Gary, Keith, and Ron in Morristown, NJ the other night. A Redditer recapped it. The highlight for me was when they were each asked to describe the Mets in one word. Gare said “heart-breaking.” Ronnie said “Peanuts cartoon”. Keith said “neurosis.”

Framber Valdez signed a three-year deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $115 million. There are deferrals and an opt out after year two.

On this day in 1903 Joan Payson, the first owner of the New York Mets, was born.