Jonah Tong Ready For the Next Challenge
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Statistically speaking, it’s pretty much impossible to be better than RHP Jonah Tong has been to open up his 2024 campaign. A 2022 7th round selection by the Mets organization, Tong has yet to surrender an earned run across 23.2 innings of work as of May 7.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Statistically speaking, it’s pretty much impossible to be better than RHP Jonah Tong has been to open up his 2024 campaign. A 2022 7th round selection by the Mets organization, Tong has yet to surrender an earned run across 23.2 innings of work as of May 7.
“I’m simplifying my approach,” said Tong. “Last year was a big development year, just trying to figure out who I was as a pitcher. Coming into this offseason, it was more ‘Okay, what are my weaknesses and how do I attack those?’”
To say he’s attacked those weaknesses would certainly be an understatement. After appearing in four games with Single-A St. Lucie in April, Tong’s Cyclones debut on May 2 lived up to the hype. The righty tossed five innings and surrendered just two hits while striking out seven batters.
A native of Toronto, Tong’s baseball journey has already had numerous stops even before joining the Mets organization. The 20-year-old spent most of his high school career at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham, Ontario. Ahead of his senior year, Tong moved to the United States, briefly appearing in a tournament in Arizona, before transferring to Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro, GA for senior year.
After a few months in Georgia, Tong moved a few states further north to Maryland, where he played ball with the Frederick Keys of the MLB Draft League in 2022, where he was teammates with former Cyclones RHP Jordan Geber. The right-hander doesn’t overlook how valuable his vast baseball background is.
“Getting to know different places, especially in the states,” said Tong. “Meeting new people and the biggest thing for me, getting to experience different cultures. For instance, at Georgia Premier we had a lot of Latin players, so I got to start to learn some Spanish."
Ahead of his start tonight down in Rome, get to know our guy Jonah Tong‼️
— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) May 8, 2024
The righty has yet to allow an earned run through 23.2 innings between Brooklyn & St. Lucie🍩
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Despite the vast amount of stops on his journey, it’s not lost on Tong just how much his family set the tone for the player and person he’s become over the years.
“I owe it all to my parents,” said Tong. “They raised me in a way that I am today and I owe them everything; family and friends as well.”
Part of the reason Tong has hit the ground running in the way that he has to open up the season has been the strikeouts. As of May 7, the right-hander has punched 43 batters while walking only eight. Tong credits his red-hot start to a different mindset that he’s adopted for his first full year in pro-ball.
“Attack early,” said Tong. “Big thing I did last year was put myself in bad spots getting behind in counts. This year, trying to narrow that focus down, go after them early and floor it on the gas pedal.”
It’s that exact mindset that’s enabled Tong to put up the eye-popping numbers that he has. Still, the Toronto native doesn’t get too caught up in the strikeouts.
“My whole goal is just to get outs and get deeper into games,” said Tong. “I won’t lie, they (the strikeouts) look pretty, but I don’t pay attention to them too much.”
While recognizing the challenge that High-A presents, Tong, who had never been to New York prior to joining the Cyclones, is eager to continue his remarkable first month into the remainder of the season.