American League
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8 articles
NYM • Pitcher • #21
7 days ago
Tong is a well-known prospect, but this was always going to be where he started the season after the team added Freddy Peralta and had veterans Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson all healthy to start the season. Tong pitched more MLB innings last season than he did Triple-A innings, so the team will have him continue to develop in the minor leagues with the hope that he can push for big league innings in the second half of the year. However, it should be noted that Tong is just 22 years old and had a 7.71 ERA in his five MLB starts last year and did not look good this spring, so there is a strong chance that he is behind both Tobias Myers and Christian Scott in the Mets’ starting pitcher pecking order right now.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
13 days ago
Tong also struck out three and didn’t walk a single batter in the outing. Obviously, the five hits are not what you’d like to see, but Tong had a 63 percent strike rate and also racked up a 27 percent whiff rate. His cutter, in particular, was effective for him on Tuesday. The issue was that he threw first-pitch strikes to just five of the 12 batters he faced, which caused him to try to get into many hitter-friendly counts that led to those base hits. He’ll look to remedy that his next time out.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
19 days ago
Nolan Gorman supplied all of the runs with his homer in the third. Tong debuted a new cutter today, throwing it 18 times in the 50-pitch outing. He didn’t throw any curves, which was a pitch he used 12% of the time in the majors last season, and he showed a revamped slider, which averaged just 82 mph instead of the 87 mph it was last year. Those are some rather big changes for a pitcher who was as successful as anyone in the minors last season. Barring multiple rotation injuries for the Mets, Tong figures to return to Triple-A to open 2026.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
6 months ago
Ouch. This was Tong’s second disastrous start in three tries. Similar to his first inning implosion against the Rangers two weeks ago, he couldn’t force any swings on pitches out of the zone and gave up tons of contact on pitches in it. He was unable to suppress hard contact in any way either as eight of the 11 balls put in play against him were hard-hit. It feels like his repertoire is simply missing a piece at the moment as his fastball and changeup are doing little to fool hitters.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
6 months ago
Tong allowed four hits, all of them singles, and walked none in the 82-pitch outing. He excelled even though his velocity was down some; he averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball today, down from 95.7 mph in his first three starts (and his two Triple-A starts before that). Tong will probably pitch just once more during the regular season next week against the Cubs.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
6 months ago
What an unmitigated disaster. Tong walked the first two batters of the game and never seemed to find the strike zone. Almost worse than that, the Rangers practically never even swung. Of the 40 pitches he threw, they only swung eight times, swung-and-missed once, and didn’t chase a single pitch out of the zone. It was a harsh reminder that while Tong’s fastball and changeup have the potential to be great pitches, his repertoire is probably still missing another piece or two. It’s unknown whether or not he’ll remain in the Mets’ rotation after this blowup, but is scheduled to face the Nationals at home next time out if he does.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
6 months ago
Tong was hurt by the long-ball on Saturday against the Mets. After a clean first inning, he surrendered a two-run homer to Sal Stewart in the second. Matt McLain then added a solo shot to lead off the third before Austin Hays took him deep to start the fourth. Tong gave the Mets two more scoreless frames, ending his day with six strikeouts over six innings. The promising 22-year-old right-hander will look to bounce back in a matchup against the Rangers in New York on Friday.
NYM • Pitcher • #21
7 months ago
Tong arrived in the show with plenty of fanfare and delivered on those lofty expectations. This debut had plenty of high points, like a six-pitch first inning and finding his secondary stuff in the middle innings. It also had a few moments where he had to put his head down and show some grit, like working through an error by Francisco Lindor to get through the fifth and only generating seven total swings-and-misses. Yet, his lineup spotted him a 12-run cushion and he was able to work through these kinks to eventually earn the win. On top of that, his bubbly nature on the mound was infectious and the Citi Field faithful were behind him every step of the way. More whiffs will come with better fastball command and fine-tuning his sequencing between that fastball, changeup, and curveball. Still, it’s impossible not to be highly encouraged by this debut and he’ll have a chance to build on it next Friday night against the Reds in Cincinnati. However, the Mets adding Tong to their staff means they’re going forward with a six-man rotation, so there’s a chance they could shuffle their starters at some point this week with an off day on Thursday.