The No. 6 ranked prospect in the

New York Mets

The farm system shone brightly on Saturday during a landmark beginning for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Jonah Tong excelled from the outset, throwing 6.2 flawless innings before being substituted with just one batter away from completing nine full innings; this game on Saturday served as a rescheduled match from Friday due to cancellations, and according to rules, Double-A games cannot exceed seven innings per contest. When only two outs were needed in the bottom of the seventh, reliever TJ Shook took over to secure what would become Binghamton’s inaugural perfect game in their team record book.

Describing Tong as untouchable would be putting it mildly. This 21-year-old from Markham, Ontario, managed to strike out a personal best of 13 batters using only 99 pitches. Among these, 61 were accurate throws resulting in strikes, along with an outstanding 18 swings and misses. In his past nineteen innings pitched, this power-right-hander has accumulated an astounding 40 strikeouts, reducing his seasonal earned run average to 2.57.


In his first six starts at Double-A, Tong boasts a 1-2 win-loss record along with 51 strikeouts and aWHIP of 1.07. This performance follows closely behind an outstanding debut from another highly ranked New York Mets pitching prospect, Nolan McLean. On Friday, McLean pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven batters using only 78 pitches; among these, 57 were accurate throws, resulting in ten missed swings. According to rankings, McLean holds the fifth spot as the most promising pitcher within the Mets’ system.

MLB.com’s prospect rankings

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How the Mets’ leading pitching prospect fared in their first game at theTriple-A level

The rise of Tong and McLean has cast a shadow over the sluggish beginning to the year for the Mets’ highest-rated prospect.

Brandon Sproat

. Still, it is a testament to the Mets’ development system and the now-infamous pitching lab that was built at the team’s spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Both Tong and McLean have spent time in the lab over the past couple of spring training sessions.


So far this season, New York’s

pitching staff

Has maintained dominance; entering Saturday’s game, the Mets hold the second spot in Major League Baseball with a team ERA of 2.82 and sit at fourth place for total strikeouts with 355. Tong’s flawless performance on Saturday could position him as a likely contender for promotion to Triple-A sometime this season, and a call-up in September remains possible if he keeps up his impressive form.


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The Mets’ top pitching prospect shines with a perfect game at Double-A level.

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