Jonah Tong, Carson Benge turn MLB Futures Game into showcase of Mets farm system

ATLANTA — Jonah Tong is a strikeout machine. Carson Benge rarely strikes out.

What if the unhittable pitcher meets the unwhiffable bat? Apparently the Mets learned as much in a few plate appearances during spring training.

“I got a hit, and I struck out,” Benge said with a smile Saturday.

Several months after those battles, two of the stars of the system brought their unique skill sets to the Futures Game at Truist Park, where the Mets offered a glimpse at what they hope their future can look like.

In the 4-2 National League victory, Tong pitched a clean second inning and maxed out at 97.4 mph.

His moving fastball drew whiffs, and a nasty curveball was responsible for his one strikeout.

The Mets are proud of the development of Tong, a rare find out of Canada in the seventh round of the 2022 draft.

Benge, a lefty slugger who flew out in his one at-bat, was a first-round pick out of Oklahoma State last year who, early on at least, has made the club’s scouting minds look smart.

Two very different paths have intersected both at the showcase event and at Double-A Binghamton, where the pair are two calls away from helping the big-league club.

It would be a surprise for either to contribute this season — Tong has been dominant but is behind the likes of Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean, while Benge is playing in just his first full professional season — but the club’s farm system looks as strong as it has looked in several years.

“I still think we have some of the best player development in all of baseball,” said Tong, who has had plenty of firsthand experience.

Tong is an unusually talented prospect with an unusual backstory. A Markham, Ontario native went stateside to the Georgia Premier Academy for a year and then showed enough in the MLB Draft league to convince the Mets to use a seventh-round pick and $226,000 to persuade Tong out of a North Dakota State commitment.

A raw prospect has turned into one of the Mets’ best, Tong emerging last year, which finished at Binghamton and included 160 strikeouts in 113 innings, before one of the most impressive seasons of any minor leaguer this season.

The 22-year-old owns a 1.83 ERA with a staggering 125 strikeouts in 78 ⅔ innings with Binghamton, his best start coming in May, when he was pulled one out from a seven-inning perfect game.

For his success, Tong credited a conversation with Rumble Ponies pitching coach Daniel McKinney, who after a strong but not excellent first month encouraged Tong to relax and simply enjoy the game.

Also to credit: a violent, over-the-top delivery that would be one of a kind if Tim Lincecum did not exist. When Tong was 13 or 14, he said, he and his father would watch different pitchers’ windups on YouTube. Tong was struck by the former Giants great.

“Being able to see his aggression to the plate and his demeanor on the mound, how he finishes was something I just tried to pick up as a kid,” Tong said. “Eventually it just evolved into who I am.”

Also to credit: a four-seam fastball that lives at the top of the zone, benefits from elements of deception and has proven nearly impossible for minor leaguers to hit more because of its ride than his velocity (though he has plenty).

Also to credit: a changeup whose grip has been tweaked after an offseason talk with vice president of pitching Eric Jagers, who asked Tong to rotate his hand on the horseshoe of the ball.

Tong brought the new grip back home with him to Canada and to his first and best personal catcher, Alex Tong.

“My dad was like, ‘Woah, that one was a little bit different,’ ” Tong said, and the diving pitch has proven as difficult for hitters to hit as for his father to catch.

“Facing him is not very fun,” reported Benge, who himself is racing through the system.

A pitcher, outfielder and slugger at Oklahoma State has been corralled into just the latter two with the Mets and has taken off without the extra burden of pitching.

Benge crushed opponents at High-A Brooklyn for 60 games (.897 OPS with 15 steals) before a promotion to Binghamton, with whom he has not seemed to notice the elevated level of pitching: He owns a .956 OPS with a pair of home runs in his 13 games in Double-A.

A talented hitter to all fields in college, Benge said he has been working on pulling the ball more in pro ball.

The approach might have changed a bit, but the results — an impressive .422 total on-base percentage, with 52 walks and just 58 strikeouts — have remained.

“I always try to keep the walks and strikeouts as close as I can,” Benge said, “I feel like that’s a good recipe for success.”