Mets to call up Tong
The New York Mets will call up Toronto Mets alum Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) to start on Friday against the Miami Marlins.
August 26, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
The New York Mets will call up Canadian right-hander Jonah Tong to make his major league debut against the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that Tong will be promoted while speaking with the Mets reporters today.
"I think it's all about him [Tong] dominating the minor leagues," Mendoza told reporters. "You could make a case, 'Alright, it’s double-A, you want to give him a better look at the triple-A level,' but, man, a couple of outings and it's hard to keep him there. So here he is now."
The 22-year-old Tong (Markham, Ont.) has been dominant at triple-A and double-A in the Mets’ organization this season.
Since being promoted to triple-A Syracuse in mid-August, he has struck out 17 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings in two starts.
Prior to that, he was overpowering for the Mets’ double-A Binghamton Rumble Pones, going 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA, while fanning 162 batters in 102 innings in 20 starts.
Tong’s combined 179 strikeouts are the most by any pitcher in the affiliated minor league ranks this season.
“This went fast for Jonah,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com about Tong’s big league promotion on Tuesday. “But to his credit, he really conquered everything we put in front of him. He exceeded our expectations throughout this year, and he put himself in a position where he deserved to be considered for a day like this.”
Over the past two seasons, Tong, the Mets No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has quickly climbed up the Mets’ ranks. His dominance can be attributed largely to a high-90s fastball that he throws over the top in a whip-like motion and a nearly unhittable changeup.
Last season, Tong was named the top pitching prospect in the Mets’ organization after he posted a combined 6-4 record with a 3.03 ERA in 25 appearances (23 starts), while striking out 160 batters in 113 innings, between class-A, High-A and double-A.
A Toronto Mets alum, the 6-foot-1 right-hander was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Mets.
There’s a good chance he’ll face fellow Toronto Mets alum Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), a catcher with the Miami Marlins, when he makes his first big league start on Friday.
According to Baseball Canada, Tong will be the 22nd Canadian to play in the major leagues in 2025.