Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean Shooting Up Prospect Lists

A few Mets prospects are moving on up.

RHP Jonah Tong jumped 33 spots to No. 59 and RHP Nolan McLean rose 21 slots to No. 76 on MLB Pipeline’s updated list of the top 100 prospects released Tuesday. Meanwhile, on Baseball America’s updated top 100 list released Wednesday, OF Carson Benge made his debut at No. 97.

Tong’s leap was the third best of all the prospects on the MLB Pipeline list. The 22-year-old leads the minor leagues in strikeouts (115 in 73 innings for Double-A Binghamton) “thanks to the exceptional ride on his four-seam fastball from an over-the-top angle and the massive improvement in the effectiveness of his changeup,” wrote Sam Dykstra of MLB.com.

Tong, selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft out of Bill Crothers (Markham, Ontario, Canada) SS, is 6-3 with a 1.73 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. He also rose 35 spots to No. 60 on Baseball America. “He’s unconventional, but so far it’s working for him,” wrote BA’s J.J. Cooper.

McLean, taken in the third round of the 2023 draft from Oklahoma State, “shows a deep, six-pitch arsenal, headlined by his mid-80s, high-spin sweeper,” Dykstra wrote.

The 23-year-old is 2-4 with a 2.72 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings pitched at Triple-A Syracuse. He pitched to a 1.37 ERA in 26 1/3 innings at Binghamton this year before he was promoted. He is up 18 spots to No. 51 on Baseball America.

Benge, the 19th overall pick last year from Oklahoma State, was promoted to Binghamton last month after 60 games at High-A Brooklyn, where he hit .302/.417/.480 with four homers and 15 steals. He’s 4-for-16 with a double in five games at Binghamton.

Binghamton SS/OF Jett Williams (.290/.405/.492, six homers, 25 RBIs, 20 doubles, five triples, 24 steals) moved up 11 places to No. 48 on the Baseball America list. Williams (No. 45) and Benge (No. 74) were also in the top 100 for MLB Pipeline.

Tong and Benge were selected Monday to play in the Futures Game during All-Star weekend.

RHP Brandon Sproat (4-5, 5.43 ERA at Syracuse) fell off the MLB Pipeline list after being No. 60. The 24-year-old “hasn’t found a pitch to miss bats consistently, leading to a sharp decline in his K rate,” Dykstra wrote.

Sproat has 49 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched (6.5 per nine innings) after striking out 131 in 116 1/3 innings across three levels last year (10.1 per nine innings).

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