As mentioned in Nolan McLean’s rookie prospects, he is better than Jonah Tong. Eat a D, Tongue! Haha, he’s got his ass. [intern whispers] Oh, I hear Jonah Tong is good too. Well, duh! That’s why we’re here! So Itch wrote up his top 10 Mets prospects and there he said: “Tong’s four-seam fastball has been overthrown by Major League hitters, throwing .600 over 213 pitches. Some of this is just location, but it’s not what happened to Tim Lincecum, whatever that’s worth. His heater had an incredible life and dominated from the start. I always thought those comparisons were more aesthetic than anything, and the early returns I still think Tong is a prime prospect. He ranks ninth on the recent top 100 list. But he reaches his outs a little differently, with more finesse than power, with an impressive command of a plus changeup and curveball for this reason, and the Mets have shown they can help a guy push his fastball to maximum effect High-pressure playoff run after I cruised through the minor leagues He’ll be a steal for me next season redistricting competitions, and he would like to kick Gray out of a plane at 30,000 feet.” What? So, what can we expect from Jonah Tong for fantasy baseball in 2026?
First let’s look at Tim Lincecum – I mean Jonah Tong – I mean – Ugh, I don’t know what I mean anymore. Here are both:
Tim Lincecum vs. Jonah Tong. pic.twitter.com/lOpe0ynvqv
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 30, 2025
Do you think Tong said, “I want to impersonate Tim Lincecum!” He then modeled his entire pitching mechanics after him, and years later, Lincecum saw it collapse as soon as he hit 29, and Tong said, “Oops.” He’s a bit of a strange person to emulate when you think about it. It’s like, “I want to be like Jim Morrison, just after his 27th birthday.” Like, dude, maybe you’ll change your mechanics when you see what happened to Lincecum, right? Well, he didn’t and here he is doing some of the best stuff in baseball. Tong’s Stuff+ was literally the best of all the starters in the minors after making his debut in Triple-A. Andrew Painter and Bubba Chandler were right behind. Its lowercase letters are untouchable. I actually liked him more than Nolan McLean, but I respect Itch putting McLean first, so I went that way too. I say I like Tong ‘now’ because I can’t help but deny that: if you emulate Lincecum, you’ll end up just like him. But I’m sure he’d take a few Cy Youngs if it meant getting washed at 29.
Jonah Tong’s 4-seamer in Triple-A had a 41.1 Whiff% and an average of 95.8 MPH. I just felt like pointing out a stupid smoke show pitch. Do you want another one? Oh okay! He had a Whiff% of 50 on his 85 MPH change. He doesn’t really need anything else. Of course, it also has a slider (87 MPH, 33 Whiff%) and a curve (77 MPH, 33 Whiff%) with a straight, over-the-top motion. The most over-the-top of everyone. More over the top than Sly in Over The Top. Like McLean, I don’t like the command. Tong’s minor league numbers: 1.43 ERA, 14.2 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 in 113 2/3 IP and had a 4.3 BB/9 and 10.6 K/9 in the majors with a 7.71 ERA in just 18 2/3 IP. ERA means nothing there, so ignore it.
There’s very little to dislike here other than the command, but, as I told McLean, the stuff is so nasty that Tong could probably just throw through it, that is, load the bases and strike out the side. For novice pitchers, that’s a scary route to success, and it can result in roofies. There’s no real sense of whether McLean or Tong will be better in 2026. I suspect they will be arranged and lined up very close together. McLean feels a little more refined, and with a better chance of breaking camp, but you’re talking about one thisclose together scenario. For 2026 fantasy baseball, I’m giving Jonah Tong projections of 6-5/3.94/1.31/123 in 107 IP with a chance for more.
#Jonah #Tong #Fantasy #Outlook