How Jonah Tong has shuffled the deck in big league return

Jonah Tong is back in the Majors. At least for now, he's sticking around.

"We're going to need him," Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza said of Tong following Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Reds. "We'll continue to get creative."

Tong -- the organization's No. 2 prospect and No. 36 overall, per MLB Pipeline -- has twirled 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run across two relief appearances to begin his second go-around in the big leagues. The righty has scattered three hits and five walks with three strikeouts.

Last week, Tong's callup was met with considerably less fanfare than a year ago, when the 22-year-old was summoned to the Majors to stabilize a depleted rotation in the thick of the pennant race. Part of that is because of his role -- Tong is not starting games at the moment. The club's lack of success is also a factor; the Mets enter Friday's series opener with the Marlins 10 games below the .500 mark. So too are Tong's results. He pitched to a 5.68 ERA in nine starts with Triple-A Syracuse earlier this season, despite racking up plenty of strikeouts.

Through two appearances, though, we've seen early indications that Tong is a different pitcher from the one who debuted last season. Here's a look at what to watch for as he continues his second tour of the Majors.

His release is less extreme

Last August, Tong broke into the Majors with an extreme over-the-top arm angle of 64 degrees. That was the highest of any MLB starting pitcher.

In his first appearance this year against the Marlins on May 22, Tong's arm angle was just 52 degrees. That's still an over-the-top profile, but less of an extreme: Thirty-two MLB starting pitchers release the ball with a higher arm angle, on average.

A drastic over-the-top arm angle helped Tong generate outlier north-to-south pitch shapes, like a four-seam fastball with plus ride and a curveball with plus drop. As we might expect, Tong's shapes are a bit different with a lowered arm angle.

Let's start with the fastball. In 2025, Tong's four-seamer generated a ton of rise -- 19.8 inches of induced vertical break, more than all but two pitchers to throw more than 150 fastballs. That sort of rising action often lends itself to swings and misses. Creating that "rise" requires backspin, which is easier to put on the baseball from a more over-the-top arm angle. It's not a surprise that Tong could do that.

This year, Tong's four-seamer still generates plus ride, just not as much. He's sitting at 17.9 inches IVB, or 1.8 inches more than comparable pitches, based on release point and velocity. Meanwhile, the pitch doesn't cut as much. It has more than double the amount of arm-side movement than it did last season.

The even bigger change here is what's happening with Tong's curveball. Last season, Tong averaged over 16 inches of induced drop on his curveball, which ranked in the high end of curves in vertical movement. This year, he's averaging 9.9 inches of induced drop. But he's doubled the amount of glove-side movement on the pitch, from 4.5 in. to 10.3 in., giving him legitimate two-plane break as opposed to a hammer that drops straight down.

There's a new pitch, too

We first saw Tong's new cutter in Spring Training, with the right-hander noting that the pitch would be "very useful" for him moving forward.

Last year, Tong essentially operated with a three-pitch arsenal, including his changeup (and not counting his slider, which he threw only 3% of the time). That formula worked well against Minor League hitters, but was less effective in the Majors. Often times, he was too predictable. At other points, he was backed into a corner. Say, if he couldn't land his changeup for a strike, hitters could expect his fastball. The cutter -- which he is throwing 17% of the time -- helps solve those problems.

Tong's pitch usage, 2025 vs. 2026

• 2025: 87% four-seamers/changeups (Triple-A) / 84% four-seamers/changeups (Majors)
• 2026: 70% four-seamers/changeups (Triple-A) / 74% four-seamers/changeups (Majors)

Tong's cutter is a hard offering, averaging 92.3 mph. This year, only 18 qualified MLB pitchers have thrown a harder cutter. As we'd expect given Tong's arm angle, the pitch has plus vertical movement, too. What matters most, though, is that he's comfortable using it.

“We’re in a good spot of knowing what it’s doing at the moment and finding opportunities to mix it in," Tong recently told Mets team reporter Andy Martino. "That was the main goal in Triple-A, and it’s still the goal now. At the end of the day, the key is being comfortable throwing it in any count, any situation."

The evolution of Tong as a pitcher -- not someone who simply overpowers hitters -- looks like it's underway.