Canadian Mets prospect Jonah Tong leads way in combined perfect game
Jonah Tong had his best stuff working Saturday for the double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Jonah Tong had his best stuff working Saturday for the double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
The Markham, Ont., native delivered his most dominant outing as a professional, working 6.2 perfect innings as he shut down the Reading Fightin Phils in a 6-0 win. Tong was pulled at 99 pitches in the seventh frame — just one out away from completing a perfect game in the second half of a weekend doubleheader.
Binghamton turned to reliever TJ Shook, who managed to strike out the final hitter of the evening, completing the first perfect game in Rumble Ponies franchise history.
However, the night was all about the Canadian right-hander, who punched out 13 of the 20 hitters he faced. The performance dropped Tong’s ERA on the season to 2.57, while giving him a whopping 51 strikeouts in 28 innings. Opponents are hitting just .162 against the six-foot-one Tong, who has only built on what was a breakout 2024 through his first six starts of the new season.
“I knew it… I (was) like, ‘one more, please,’” Tong joked after the game with Binghamton broadcast Matt Levin about being pulled right before getting his shot at history. “But I get it, bigger picture here. I’m glad (Shook) came in.”
As he carved through the Reading lineup, Tong was in full control of his arsenal, pounding the strike zone with 61 of the 99 pitches he delivered. For a pitcher who has struggled to limit walks at times during his pro career, his command was one of the most encouaging signs from Saturday’s star. Although, it didn’t seem like much was going to bother him on this day.
“Pretty calm, not going to lie to you. Didn’t really think a whole lot,” he said when asked how he felt throughout the game. “Thought the sky was nice and blue today, the jerseys are pretty cool, so that was pretty much it.”
Tong was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 draft by the New York Mets and has slowly begun to climb through the minors. The Mets drafted Tong out of Georgia Premier Academy after the Canuck was recruited to pitch south of the border during high school.
In 2024, he pitched at three levels, earning two promotions on his way to being named New York’s pitching prospect of the year by MLB Pipeline.
The 21-year-old operates with a four-pitch mix, highlighted by a riding fastball, which plays well above its 91-to-94 m.p.h. velocity. He also mixes in a big curveball, hard slider and vulcan changeup.
Tong’s 51 strikeouts in 2025 catapult into first place in the Eastern League among qualified pitchers. He also ranks 12th in ERA, third in average against and 12 in WHIP.
He’s ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Mets system by MLB Pipeline, but figures to climb even further up the ranks given how the start to his season has gone, especially in the wake of Saturday’s combined perfecto.
