It’s the second consecutive month he’s been recognized as the best arm in the league.
Jonah Tong has been named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for June, one month after he received the same award in May. He’s the first player in Binghamton history to win the award in back-to-back months.
Tong made 5 starts in June, going 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA over 29 innings. He struck out 43 and walked only 9, good for an extraordinary 31.8% K-BB%. Throw in May as well and it’s a 1.13 ERA over 55.2 innings (10 starts) with a nearly identical 30% K-BB%. It’s a simply absurd run, no other way to describe it, one that earned him a spot in the Futures Game alongside Carson Benge. You can expect him to move up to Triple-A shortly after that appearance in all likelihood.
When we re-racked the Mets’ top-15 a month ago on From Complex to Queens, Tong had moved up significantly. At a minimum he’s leap-frogged Brandon Sproat, and at this point he’s got a very solid to be slotted ahead of Nolan McLean, as well. National outlets such as Baseball America still have McLean ahead for now, but only just, and there’s been a significant climb up the rankings for Tong to date that will only continue if he keeps performing like this. More importantly, he could help out the Mets down the stretch if he pitches well at Triple-A.