Shushkewich: Tong, Wilkinson dominating minor league mounds

Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Wilkinson (White Rock, B.C.) has dominated for the Cleveland Guardians’ single-A Lynchburg Hillcats so far this season. Photo: Lynchburg Hillcats

April 30, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

In every organization spread across Major League Baseball, you are bound to find a Canadian.

Whether it is a prospect knocking on the big league door like Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) or a big leaguer making starts every day like Josh or Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), a Canuck presence can be found through each franchise if you look hard enough.

That extends to the depths of the minor leagues, where two Canadian pitchers are taking the single-A level by storm with their impressive performances to start the 2024 campaign.

Toronto Mets alum Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) dominated for the St. Lucie Mets this season before being promoted to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones. Photo: St. Lucie Mets

Jonah Tong – RHP

New York Mets – Brooklyn Cyclones (High-A)

Drafted in the seventh round by the New York Mets in 2022, Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.) got a taste of professional baseball last season when he made 10 appearances (eight starts) split between Rookie ball in the Florida Complex League and St. Lucie in single-A.

Combined, the right-hander posted a 6.00 ERA through 21 innings, allowing 17 hits and 14 earned runs while walking batters at an elevated 9.4 BB/9 rate. Armed with a low-90s fastball, Tong used the offering at a high rate last season while mixing in a curveball and a changeup to round out his arsenal. While he was able to limit opposing batters to a .218 average, the free passes hurt Tong, elevating the OBP against him to a .390 mark.

This season, Tong has conquered the control issues that haunted him last year and is off to a torrid start in single-A. Through four games (two starts), Tong has gone 18 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. He is one of just three qualified pitchers in all of minor league baseball to sport a 0.00 ERA. The 20-year-old righty has dropped his BB/9 to a stellar 2.4 mark, allowing just five free passes, while throwing to a 65% strike rate and averaging 15.6 pitches per inning.

In St. Lucie, Tong has used his fastball 63.5% of the time while mixing in his curveball (23.2%) and changeup (8.3%) to help generate increased whiffs, clocking in at 9.9% for all of his pitch outcomes. Tong has also gained a few MPH on his fastball, hitting the 93-94 MPH mark, while also mixing in a slider.

With his solid mix of pitches, the right-hander has struck out opponents at an elite rate, posting a 17.4 K/9 rate and a 7.2 K/BB value, which is one of the top marks in the minor leagues. He is one of 10 qualified MiLB pitchers to post a strikeout rate above 40% to begin the season. He uses his fastball, which includes roughly 20-21 inches of induced vertical break (vertical movement either up or down due to spin) to offset his 12-6 curve that generates a ton of swings and misses.

His 36 punchouts rank second in the Florida State League along with his 0.64 WHIP and .115 opponents’ batting average. Tong has gone four-plus innings in each of his outings and hasn’t allowed more than two hits in a single contest. He also hasn’t walked a batter since his second outing on April 13. He has already eclipsed the double-digit single-game strikeout mark twice in 2024 while posting at least six punchouts in each of his appearances.

His hot start didn’t go unnoticed. Tong was promoted to high-A Brooklyn of the South Atlantic League yesterday.

Matt Wilkinson – LHP

Cleveland Guardians – Lynchburg Hillcats (A)

The 2023 collegiate season put Matt Wilkinson (White Rock, B.C.) on the map as a sophomore in the desert. The Central Arizona product posted a 1.07 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 84 innings for the Vaqueros, which earned him JUCO Pitcher of the Year honours as well as First Team All-Canadian honours from the Canadian Baseball Network. On top of his impressive collegiate campaign, he had a solid stint with the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League later in the summer. This inspired the Cleveland Guardians to select the 6-foot-1 southpaw in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB draft.

Wilkinson made one relief appearance in Rookie ball to finish out 2023. This year, the Guardians had Wilkinson start with the single-A Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League. Nicknamed Tugboat, the former Okotoks Dawgs pitcher has made four starts and struck out 41 batters (17.9 K/9) in 20 2/3 innings. He has allowed just six hits and one earned run and owns a 0.44 ERA. He also boasts a 70% strike rate while limiting opponents to a .178 OBP, a .240 BABip, and a .299 OPS.

He didn’t permit his lone run this season until his third start and has at least eight strikeouts in each contest while going at least four innings in every start. He leads the Carolina League in multiple categories but most impressively, he tops all of the minor leagues in opponents batting average (.091), strikeouts, K% (56.2%), and K-BB% (47.9%).

In his latest outing, he struck out 15 of the 19 Myrtle Beach Pelicans batters he faced - including the first seven batters of the game. He generated 21 swings and misses and left the game after six innings without allowing a hit. With this, he joined an elite group of professional pitchers who have registered 15 strikeouts in a game without allowing a hit that includes major leaguers Clayton Kershaw, Warren Spahn, and Max Scherzer. The last minor league pitcher to accomplish the feat was Cade Cavalli in 2021.

Wilkinson works with a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball, changeup, and slider. His fastball sits in the low 90s. Similar to Tong, he was one of the 10 qualified pitchers who posted a strikeout percentage above 40% and leads the group with his 56.2% rate (just a few ticks above Tong and his 52.9%, although the fellow Canuck wins the called strikes + whiffs rate at 41.2% to 40.2% respectively).

For the Guardians, it appears they have found a steal in the 10th round. Wilkinson is quickly wearing out his welcome in single-A and it’s likely he’ll be elevated to High-A in the near future.