The New York Mets have favoured Jonah Tong, a top pitching prospect, to be promoted for a thriller match against the Miami Marlins.
On Tuesday, August 26, the Met manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Jonah will mark his debut on Friday, August 29, after making only two starts at Triple-A Syracuse.
The 22-year-old right-hander has dominated minor league hitters, striking out 377 in 247 2/3 career innings.
A seventh-round draft pick in 2022, Tong is one of the top up-and-coming stars in the minors this season. The Canadian player has a 1.43 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 113⅔ innings, mostly in Double-A.
With the most strikeouts in the minors, 40% of the batters who faced him got struck out by him. That is tops among the 154 minor leaguers with at least 100 innings.
The Mets added a sixth starter in the rotation to give regular members an extra day of rest, as they have 16 continuous games.
Depending on Tong's performance, he could stick with the major league club down the stretch.
The decision came soon after the Mets brought up touted pitcher Nolan McLean from Syracuse, who made his debut against Seattle on August 16.
Notably, the New York Mets currently hold the third National League wild card spot at 70-61. They have a 2½ game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for a postseason spot with 31 games remaining.
