New York Mets rookie pitchers Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong were honored on Monday at the third annual MiLB Awards Show. McLean was named the Breakout Player of the Year. Tong was given the 2025 Pitching Prospect of the Year award. Both prospects later joined the Mets’ bullpen in August after putting up multiple impressive performances in the minors.
Tong Honor by MiLB
Tong earned All-MiLB Prospect First Team honors after performing well with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. The 22-year-old right-hander went 10–5 with a 1.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings combined across both teams.
He earned a promotion to Triple-A in August and started two games in Syracuse, where he recorded 17 strikeouts in 11 2/3 scoreless innings. Tong made his major league debut against the Miami Marlins.
In his first appearance, he pitched five innings and collected six strikeouts. Tong went on to play in four more games, picking up his second career win against the San Diego Padres. However, the rookie ended his first season with a 2–3 record.
McLean Named Breakout Player of the Year
In his first season as a full-time pitcher, McLean put up 127 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings in 21 games with Binghamton and Syracuse. The former two-way player then made his way to the majors in August. McLean put up eight strikeouts to pick up his first career win against the Seattle Mariners. He went on to help the Mets defeat division rivals, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Furthermore, he ended his first season in New York 5–1 with 57 strikeouts in 48 innings. This therefore helped him win the the Breakout Player of the Year award.
Looking Ahead
Tong and McLean are key contributors to the Mets’ bullpen alongside fellow top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat. The trio will likely play a key role with the Mets during 2026. This will count as their official rookie season.
“I would expect all three to have a role in the major leagues at some point next year,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said on Monday during a press conference at Citi Field. “We need more innings out of our starting staff, there’s no question about that.”
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