As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
The New York Mets may have taken on many different personas or gimmicks this year, but they look to be in the healthiest position they have been in as an organization in a long time. They are players in free agency, drafting and developing well, and now the big league squad is one of the better units. Things are looking great for the Mets faithful. Especially those who have one eye toward the future, as this is one of the healthier farm systems we have done thus far. They had one lone 40 make our Top 20, which speaks to the relative strength of this farm system. And as we always do here, it's time to highlight some prospects that didn't make our 20 but are worth noting in their own right.
Let's start with Jonah Tong, arguably the most notable prospect left off the list. I acknowledge that other websites will have him included, and that's fine. I don't want to be like everyone else and have serious concerns with Tong. First, given his height, his arm slot is not all that viable. We've seen this before—another New York prospect, Deivi GarcÃa, had a similar release point and was primarily a curveball guy. And look at where Deivi is now: a low-leverage reliever on a struggling team. That's the upside I see for Tong.
While Tong's fastball has decent shape, which is a slight edge over Deivi, that's where the positives end for me. He had a big rise during the season, possibly fueled by some hype from his high school or the Mets' PR machine, and I honestly couldn't understand why. From my observation, he doesn't have an actual plus pitch. His primary breaking ball is a curve, and while I graded it as above average, I'm concerned about pitchers who rely on a curveball-fastball combo without a viable slider. There's a reason some teams are moving away from using the curve as anything more than an early-count strike-stealer.
The ceiling others perceive for Tong and the one I see for him are totally different, so I rated him a 40 OFP and left him out of the Top 20. If he comes out of spring training with an improved breaking ball, I might have to eat my words, or if his stuff takes a significant jump, I'll reconsider. But right now, I need to see where the projection for that improvement comes from.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
