Blue Jays Nation’s countdown of the top Canadian baseball prospects entering 2025 continues with a look at a Mets farmhand who played at three different levels last season.

Hometown: Markham, Ont.

Organization:  New York Mets

Position: Right-handed pitcher

Acquired: 7th round, 2022 draft (NYM)

There may not be a player on this list who has had as much of a meteoric rise up the prospects list as Jonah Tong has over the last year. Originally from Markham, Ont., Tong spent his latter few years of high school with Georgia Premier Academy, a development program that fellow Canadian Mitch Bratt also attended. The Mets drafted him in the seventh round in the 2022 draft, signing him for a slot value of $226k.

The 2023 season would be Tong’s first in professional baseball, one in which he would appear in ten games (eight starts) split between rookie ball and single-A St Lucie. Despite some command struggles (9.4 BB/9), he impressed with his strikeout stuff, punching out 38 in 21 innings (16.4 K/9).

Last season was the 21-year-old’s first chance to pitch a full season after spending last year in Rookie Ball, and he did not disappoint. Starting the season in St Lucie, he was about as dominant as one could be, and quickly rose up th prospect lists as a result. Across 18 2/3 innings, he struck out 36 batters while walking just five and not allowing a single run. It’s hard to do much more than that to justify a call-up.

On April 29th, he was moved up to high-A Brooklyn, where he would spend the majority of his season. Across 19 starts, he compiled a 3.71 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, with an 11.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. Unlike in 2023, most of the baserunners allowed came from hits and not walks, as his 7.8 H/9 was a bit higher than ideal.

Tong’s success at high-A allowed him to log two starts in double-A to close out the season, mirroring the numbers he put up in the lower minors. Through 9 1/3 innings, he struck out 14, walked four, and allowed just three runs. This included a memorable debut in which he punched out nine over six innings without allowing a baserunner.

All in all, Tong struck out a whopping 160 batters across his 113 innings, the 9th most among all minor league pitchers in 2024. He ended the year at number 10 on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Mets prospects, after starting the year at 20.

At six-foot-one, 180 pounds – Tong lacks ideal size for a starting pitcher. He more than makes up for this with his nasty repertoire of pitches and deception that his delivery creates. His fastball sits in the mid-90s, and his over-the-top delivery leads to elite vertical breaks on the pitch. While playing in St. Lucie last season, Tong’s fastball generated the highest induced vertical break in the Florida State League (20.6 inches), leading to batters whiffing on 48.1% of their swings. To put it into perspective, the Dodgers’ Alex Vesia and Astros’ Cristian Javier were the only major league pitchers to average higher than 20.0% induced vertical break on their fastball in 2024.

While the fastball has the potential to be an elite pitch for Tong, he also receives high grades for his breaking balls. He throws a tight 12-6 curveball, which plays well off of his fastball given his release point. A mid-80s slider and changeup with arm side run round out his arsenal. The changeup was his least used pitch in 2024, typically only throwing it against left-handed batters.

Tong’s fastball ensures that if he struggles with his command or his secondary pitches fail to develop, he will likely still be able to crack a major league bullpen. Of course, the potential is there for him to develop into so much more. The secondary pitches give him a chance to be a top-of-the-rotation type of starter in the major leagues, especially if he can stay around the strike zone like he did in 2024.

There seems to be more depth among Canadian relievers compared to starters in recent years, with Nick Pivetta, James Paxton, and Cal Quantrill really the only consistent starting pitchers at the major league level. Tong has an argument to be Canada’s best pitching prospect (you’ll see his main competitor later on this list) and will be a player that many will be keeping tabs on this season.

After spending the bulk of the 2024 season in high-A, Tong is set to start next season in double-A Binghampton for the Rumble Ponies (while perhaps moonlighting as a Bathtub Donkey as well). It isn’t outside the realm of possibilities for the 21-year-old to push for a September call up to New York if all goes well. More likely, he will continue to build momentum towards a 2026 rotation spot.

9. Dylan O’Rae

10. Dante Nori

11. Erik Sabrowski

12. Damiano Palmegiani

13. Eric Cerantola

14. Dasan Brown

15. Émilien Pitre

16. Adam Maier

17. Liam Hicks

18. David McCabe

19. Calvin Ziegler

20. Jeremy Pilon