The Rockaway Wave
Originally published May 10, 2024
They say if you keep going to the ballpark, you’ll see stuff you’ve never seen before. That’s what Rich Leitch’s dad would tell him, and in 2021, it came true.
Leitch is the Director of Baseball of the Toronto Mets Baseball Program (no relation to the New York counterpart), where current Brooklyn Cyclone Jonah Tong played during his high school years.
During one game in 2021, Tong did something Leitch had never seen before.
“He threw a pitch, and it was really hummin’, I mean it was really hummin’,” Leitch said. “The kid swung and missed and the ball rolled up the first-base line. I thought it had hit off the catcher’s glove. The kid swung and missed it, our catcher missed it, he hit the umpire in the leg, broke his leg, sent him to the hospital. Meanwhile, Jonah runs over, picks up the ball, and throws the kid out at first base. … In one pitch he beat the hitter, the catcher, and the umpire all at the same time.”
Leitch said Tong entered the organization as a pitcher, but also an outfielder. He was a great athlete and had a great glove, but the bat was “a mess” — prompting the the coaches to approach him about a switch to just pitching. Tong pushed back a bit, Leitch said because he really liked to hit.
“Yeah, but you don’t get any hits,” Leitch said.
Tong committed himself to pitching only from there on, Leitch said. His velocity climbed over the years, starting in the low 80s, then to the mid-to-high 80s, and then up into the mid-90s by the time he was a senior. His stuff was legit, and the results followed.
“Every once in a while I’ll say, ‘Hey man, maybe this pitching thing’s okay,’” Leitch said. “And he’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m still the best defensive outfielder we got.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. You still can’t hit though.”
Toronto Mets President Ryan McBride lauded Tong’s maturity, passion, and work ethic while emphasizing the kind of teammate he is.
“Everything you’re looking for in young athletes, he possesses,” McBride said. “Obviously, his talent is elite, everyone’s seen that now. But to go deeper into that, just the makeup is off the charts.”
Tong still works out at the Toronto Mets facility in the offseason and even pitches in, whether it’s helping some of the young players or even working camps in the winter.
“He’s always in there, always working, always asking questions, always trying to get better, but also helping,” McBride said. “It’s been really enjoyable to watch him transition from that young, a little bit shy, unassuming young guy to go through our program and then come back and continue to give back and now helping out our current younger players. Love seeing that kind of evolution.”
Tong went from the Toronto Mets to play a season at the Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro, Georgia — about 800 miles away from his former team.
Gene Reynolds, the Owner and Director of Baseball Operations of Georgia Premier Academy, said Tong was an under-the-radar kid when he arrived who would go on to put himself on the map with some big-time performances. Like his coaches in Toronto, Reynolds, went out of his way to emphasize the type of character Tong has.
“A lot of kids come in, if they’re a high-ranked guy, they’re not growing up in your academy and been there long, they’re worried about what they can get out of it and not invested in the guys and the team,” Reynolds said. “Jonah couldn’t have been further from the opposite. He was a really, really great positive presence the whole time he was here.”
Tong went on to pitch in the MLB Draft League and wasn’t great, posting an ERA over 10 in 11 and 2⁄3 innings, before the New York Mets selected him in the 7th round of the 2022 draft. He said McBride texted him after he was taken and joked that he doesn’t have to change his colors, and could just take his stuff with him.
McBride also said after that, he saw a change in him.
“The biggest change I saw in Jonah was the first time he came home after turning pro,” McBride said. “… You could see in his eyes that he knew that he had a legitimate chance, and he was where he was supposed to be.”
He didn’t make his professional debut until 2023, and even then threw just 21 innings between rookie ball and Single-A. He largely struggled, recording a 6.00 ERA and 1.86 WHIP, including 22 walks. The strikeout totals were there though, punching out 38 batters to give himself the second-highest K/9 among any Mets minor leaguer with at least 10 innings pitched.
He started the 2024 season in Single-A and absolutely dominated. In four starts in St. Lucie, Tong tossed 18.2 innings without giving up an earned run, struck out 36 and walked just five — prompting the Mets to promote him to High-A Brooklyn. He said he wasn’t expecting to get promoted this early in the season, but it was a goal of his for the season and can’t deny it’s pretty cool.
Tong shoved once again in his first start at the new level, throwing five more innings and allowing just two hits, three walks and no earned runs while striking out seven.
“Fastball in the zone early was huge for me,” Tong said. “In some outings, especially last year, I didn’t really have that. And then as the game developed, my breaking ball — slider, curveball — started to come in, so that was a really big part.”
Other than the weather change from Port St. Lucie, Florida, to Brooklyn, New York, he said he didn’t see much difference between the two levels.
“The fact that he was able to dominate the PSL, come up here and now, having a really good first outing, getting those jitters out, it’s really exciting to see what he can become,” Cyclones manager Gilbert Gómez said.
His second start for the Cyclones wasn’t quite as strong, but it was still overall a positive one. Over four innings, Tong gave up one earned run, three hits and four walks while striking out four. The third-inning blemish snapped what was a 26-inning streak without allowing an earned run to open the year.
The most telling difference from last season to this season has been the change in his walk totals. In 21 innings in 2023, Tong walked 22 batters. In 27 and 2⁄3 in 2024, he’s walked just 12.
Tong said he fixed his mechanics over the offseason and simplified his approach, which is helping him have more success.
“Go out there, attack early, put them away as fast as possible,” Tong said.
Right now, he said he has the most confidence in his fastball, curveball and slider.
The fastball can get as high as 97 mph, but usually sits in the mid-90s. While the velocity isn’t overwhelming, it’s an incredibly effective pitch due to the movement he gets on it.
“It’s not necessarily just the velo of what helps that pitch play up, it’s extreme ride,” Cyclones pitching coach Daniel McKinney said. “The way Jonah throws is pretty unique as well, so I think it’s a fastball that is tough to pick up and it’s got a lot of life to it.”
Gómez said he can get over 20 inches of run on his fastball, and his curveball is a real asset. McKinney said the slider is a new add this year that has been a big piece for his arsenal. He also occasionally throws a changeup, but for now it’s primarily a three pitch mix.
Tong’s throwing motion is another thing that his coaches say helps him be so effective. McKinney described his stride as closed off, which contributes to hitters having a hard time picking him up.
His motion is reminiscent of former two-time National League Cy Young Award winner with the San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum. Tong said he was a big focal point for him growing up from a mechanics standpoint.
Reynolds said that when Tong joined his organization, the immediate comp for him was the former Giants star.
“His motions, actions, everything, it looked just like Lincecum,” Reynolds said. “Obviously, it’s something unique, not something we taught or whatever, it’s a unique part of what he is, but I definitely believe it probably helps make it tougher for hitters to pick up the ball.”
Through 27 and 2⁄3 innings between Single-A and High-A in 2024, Tong has a 0.33 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts. He has the best ERA in the entire minor leagues among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched and is threatening for the top spot in the other two categories as well.
McKinney, who was also the pitching coach in Single-A St. Lucie last season, said it has been “pretty incredible” to see the Tong’s growth and maturation over the past year.
“I saw him make strides from last year to spring training to when he got to me in PSL, and that’s really just continued,” McKinney said. “He’s very confident in who he is as a pitcher now and what he needs to do to have success. He’s definitely more focused on process than results, so it’s been a long time coming. I think he’s only going to continue to get better in all those areas.”
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