July 8, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

The Canadian Baseball Network’s minor league Player of the Week honour has been hitter-heavy through June, with catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) and Denzel Clarke twice (Pickering, Ont.) taking home the honour.

Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.) was the last pitcher to earn the award back in late May.

This week, amidst some strong outings from T.J. Schofield-Sam (Mississauga, Ont.) and Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.), a pitcher returns to the winner's circle – New York Mets prospect RHP Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.). The Brooklyn Cyclone was dominant in his June 26 start against the high-A Aberdeen Ironbirds, allowing one run on three hits in six innings, while matching his season-best with 11 strikeouts.

After starting the season in single-A St. Lucie, Tong was promoted to Brooklyn in late April and has been outstanding.

Facing Aberdeen in his 13th appearance of the season, Tong was facing the IronBirds on their home turf at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.

In the first inning, Tong got to work – striking out lead-off man Luis Valdez on six pitches while throwing five strikes . After a quick fly out, Tong added another strikeout on three pitches.

The second was even more impressive, as Tong struck out the side on 15 pitches. He got Douglas Hodo III, Carter Young looking on a pitch low and away and Angel Tejada striking out on a foul tip.

The third saw two IronBirds batters put wood on the ball but neither found a hole. With two outs, Tong got back into the strikeout column with a six-pitch at-bat against Cristian Benavides, for his fifth strikeout on the day.

The fourth saw Tong in some trouble. After a lead-off strikeout, the perfect game was ended via a ground-rule double to right field. While Tong was able to get the next batter to ground out, moving the runner to third, a single through the right side saw the IronBirds plate their first run of the day. Tong then struck out the next batter on four pitches to end the frame.

A similar battle ensued in the fifth, with Tejada producing a double up the middle. Tong got a ground ball to the left side and the first out of the inning was registered when Tejada was thrown out at third . While the defence helped Tong an out previously, an error on a fielder’s choice to second put runners on first and second with one out. Tong buckled down and took matters into his own hands – registering back-to-back strikeouts (one called and one swinging) to get himself out of the inning.

Heading back to the mound for the sixth , Tong got a fly ball and a grounder for two quick outs. He then walked his only batter of the contest. But the 21-year-old rebounded to strike out the next batter for his 11th whiff of the day.

The 11 strikeouts tied his single-season high on April 7, his first start of the season. This outing was the third time Tong pitched six or more innings this season. He threw 95 pitches, producing a 67.4% strike rate in front of a crowd of 1,152 at Leidos Field.

Tong generated a game-high 16 swing-and-misses. Using a five-pitch mix, with a plus fastball being his main weapon, Tong executed his game plan well and was around the strike zone all day – one of the reasons for his elevated pitch count given the strikeouts.

With this outing and his first July start, Tong currently owns a 2.17 ERA split between both levels and has amassed a 3.02 ERA through 11 starts and 47 2/3 innings with Brooklyn. His 13.4 K/9 is the highest tally amongst all Mets’ starters and his 5.7 H/9 mark trails only Brandon Sproat, a top-100 prospect in double-A. Tong currently ranks as the Mets’ 20th-ranked prospect via MLB Pipeline.

For the week spanning from June 25 to June 30, Tong led all Canadian pitchers in strikeouts and ranked only behind Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) in innings pitched (seven).

Former Winners

Opening Day to May 6 – LHP Matt Wilkinson (Lander, BC), Guardians.

May 7- May 12 – INF Charles LeBlanc (Laval, Que.), Angels.

May 13- May 19 – RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), Braves.

May 20- May 26 – INF Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.), Tigers.

May 27 – June 2 – RHP Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.), Dodgers.

June 3 – June 9 – C/DH Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), Rangers.

June 10 – June 16 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.

June 17 – June 23 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.

June 24 – June 30 – RHP Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.), Mets.

Stats Compiled by Pete Berryman

Hitters

Pitchers