Latest news with #TimLincecum
Newsweek
03-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Mets Have Next Tim Lincecum, 'Strikeout Machine' in Line for Rotation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The New York Mets have taken back the top spot in the National League East division and are coming off of an impressive extra-innings win against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Though the Mets' best player, Juan Soto, is seeing a slow start to the season, the team has enjoyed strong contributions from a broad range of others. Pete Alonso has returned to the team in career form, Francisco Lindor has continued to play like one of the best shortstops in the sport and the pitching staff is replete with pleasant surprises. Even with a big-league roster that appears as complete as any in the majors, the Mets also have a budding superstar waiting in the wings. SNY's Danny Abriano detailed how "fast-rising" prospect Jonah Tong is drawing some exciting comparisons from Double-A Binghamton. "As Tong continues a meteoric rise that saw him excel across three minor league levels in 2024 during what was his first full professional season, he has taken it up a notch this season with Binghamton, where he has a 2.25 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, with an eye-popping 72 strikeouts and only 23 hits allowed over 44.0 innings spanning seven starts," Abriano wrote. "But as far as one pitcher Tong most enjoyed watching and says he's compared to the most, it's Tim Lincecum, who was a strikeout machine during his heyday while winning two Cy Young awards for the Giants." DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 27: Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants walks to the dugout after striking out swining Andy Dirks #12 of the Detroit Tigers to end the eighth inning during Game... DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 27: Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants walks to the dugout after striking out swining Andy Dirks #12 of the Detroit Tigers to end the eighth inning during Game Three of the Major League Baseball World Series at Comerica Park on October 27, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by) More Shaw/Getty From 2008 to 2011, Lincecum was one of the most electric pitchers in all of baseball, earning four All-Star nods in that span despite his diminutive stature and unorthodox delivery. His career took a sharp downward turn after its peak, but if the Mets can expect a Lincecum-like arrival for Tong, they will surely take it. Tong does have some more to prove in the minors before he'd be ready to test that comparison at the big-league level, but it's possible the Mets could promote him as soon as next season if he can keep up this level of production. Given the level of success the team is having, particularly in the pitching staff, the idea of adding the next Lincecum to the rotation is an exciting one. More MLB: Cubs President Hints at Potential Trade Deadline Plans
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
New York Mets' Prospect Jonah Tong Pitching Like Tim Lincecum
Jonah Tong looks more like a perfect first-round pick these days instead of a seventh-round choice signed for $226,000 by the New York Mets. That's what the the Canadian right-hander got to sign after being the 13th choice of the seventh round, No. 209 overall, in the 2022 MLB Draft. That gave him 226,000 reasons to forget his college commitment to North Dakota State and turn pro. WEST PALM BEACH, FL: Jonah Tong of the New York Mets pitches in a spring training Spring Breakout ... More game against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) Tong's motion remarkably resembles that of two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. His performance this year for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the Double-A Eastern League mimics' Lincecum's results early in his 10-year career after being the 10th overall choice in the 2006 Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Tong's 72 strikeouts lead the EL. They have come in only 44 innings. And 13 were in a perfect 6 2/3 innings on May 10. He threw 99 pitches in setting down all 20 Reading batters he faced in a seven-inning game 2 of a doubleheader. Roommate T.J. Shook fanned the final batter for the first perfect game in franchise history and first in full-season affiliate baseball since Sept. 1, 2017. Tong threw 61 pitches for strikes with 18 swing-and-miss efforts. 'Man, it was very difficult (to pull him),' manager Reid Brignac told The Athletic. 'It was very, very difficult. We had a plan set for him for the day based off his last outing and his pitch counts. This is the minor leagues, it's about development and giving him the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues.' WEST PALM BEACH, FL: Jonah Tong of the New York Mets pitches in 2025 spring training. (Photo by ... More Jared Blais/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Tong extended his scoreless streak seven day later by blanking the Hartford Yard Goats on two hits and two walks over six innings, fanning eight. In nine starts overall, he has a 3-3 record, 2.25 ERA and allowed 23 hits and 24 walks. That follows a fine 2024 season across three levels from Low-A St. Lucie to Binghamton when he went 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 25 strikeouts. His 160 strikeouts were the most by a Mets farmhand and his 34.2% whiff rate ranked fifth among all Minor League qualifiers. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, the 21-year-old is built similarly to the 5-11, 170-pound Lincecum. His over-the-top motion is smoother than Lincecum's violent delivery but sets up a fastball-curve mix the same way. SAN FRANCISCO: Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Texas Rangers in Game ... More One of the 2010 MLB World Series at AT&T Park on Oct. 27, 2010. (Photo by) Tong's fastball has improved since signing but is nowhere near Linceum's upper-90s heater. Tong's average fastball velocity is in the 91-94 mph range yet the pitch shows remarkable life up in the zone. 'I don't really understand how it does its thing, but I just know it's always been my go-to and I just have a lot of conviction trust behind it,' Tong told Brendan Samson of following his perfect outing. That sets up his second-best pitch, a 74-76 mph curveball that he can drop from eye level to the ankles in a flash. Tong also throws an 82-84 mph slider that needs work and a changeup which gets some strikeouts with movement. He does not command either that well, contributing to a rather high 4.7 walks per nine innings as a pro, including 4.9 this season. Some scouts believe that more experienced hitters will lay off the fastball, ignore any curve dipping out of the zone and eventual hammer one of the lesser offerings. Jonah comes from an athletic family. His mother Karen and father Alex played multiple sports in high school She played softball, field hockey, and volleyball; he played hockey and volleyball. They met while playing adult league slow pitch and volleyball. Tong's sister Morgan was a gymnast at Central Michigan, voted Mid-American Conference freshman of the year, First Team all MAC beam team (second year), MAC beam champion 2021, qualified to NCAA Nationals to beam as an individual (2021), CMU won the regular season and conference tournament His other sister Montana played softball growing up and for her varsity baseball team in high school. The very first music video shown on MTV on Aug. 1, 1981 was 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by the Buggles. Born 22 years later, Tong says video helped this young pitching star. 'I watched a lot of guys growing up,' he said. 'My dad did, too, and would say, hey watch Greg Maddux. He's the ultimate pitcher who combines athletic talent with brains.' Tong lists Lincecum among players that have had a video influence on his career along with Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw, former Met and current Texas Rangers ace Jacob DeGrom, current Dodger Tyler Glasnow and the Hall of Famer Maddux. There's a hint of Hall of Famer Roy Halladay in Tong's mechanics, too. As a young boy, he watched the late right-hander excel with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. TORONTO: Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Cleveland Indians during Game 5 of ... More the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on Oct. 19, 2016. (Photo) His favorite pitcher was the first one he ever actually saw. That was former Toronto right-hander Brett Cecil at a meet-and-greet session the Blue Jays had for young players in the area. Tong grew up about 20 miles northeast of the Rogers Centre in Markham, Ontario. MLB Pipeline ranks Tong as the Mets' fourth overall prospect behind speedy shortstop-outfielder Jett Williams, right-hander Brandon Sproat and outfielder Carson Benge. ESPN ranks him ahead of Sproat and Baseball America ranks his fastball as best in the Mets' farm system. Obviously, the future is bright. The only clouds on the horizon come from Tong's lack of consistent command and the need to develop a reliable third and possibly fourth pitch. An expanded arsenal and the ability to throw strikes with all pitches makes him a viable rotation candidate. If not, the elite fastball-curve mix could play well out of the bullpen. QUEENS, NY: Pedro Martinez of the New York Mets pitches against the Baltimore Orioles, at Shea ... More Stadium on June 17, 2006. (Photo by) The Mets, as shown in pulling him with a perfect game in the balance, will proceed carefully with Jonah Tong. He's not exactly built to be an innings-eating ace. Then again, neither was 5-11, 170-pound Pedro Martinez who made two all-star teams for the Mets in an 18-year Hall of Fame career with five teams. You never can tell. Look what happened with Martinez, signed for only $6,500 by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur in 1988. The New York Mets and Jonah Tong will gladly take such a career.
