Jonah Tong impressed the Mets enough in 30 innings pitched during his senior year in high school to get selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. Three years later, two starts at Triple-A Syracuse were enough to earn him a call to the big leagues. He will debut Friday at Citi Field against the Marlins.

Of course, there was plenty of work in between.

Tong, 22, started the year at Double-A Binghamton and leads the minor leagues in strikeouts (179 in 113 2/3 innings pitched), ERA (1.43), batting average-against (.148) and strikeout rate (40.5 percent). He threw 11 2/3 scoreless innings in his two Syracuse starts, striking out 17 and walking three.

“He’s obviously got the fastball that plays, and that’s been his calling card throughout his time in the minor leagues,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday. “What’s impressed us the most is the speed with which he’s expanded his arsenal really effectively.

Jonah Tong via Syracuse Mets

“So he’s added a changeup this year that’s been really good. And we’ve seen outings that have shown, I think, tremendous maturity on the mound, where something is not working, he’s then able to switch an approach and go to the slider more, throw a few more curveballs. And allow himself to get through outings really successfully, even if he’s not following the exact plan that he thought he was going to follow when he went into the game.

“I think he’s done that in Triple-A in both starts. He’s had success in two straight starts in different ways.”

A native of Canada, Tong attended Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham, Ontario, but transferred to Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro for his senior year. There, he went 4-2 with a 1.63 ERA and struck out 46 batters in 30 innings. He was the 209th pick in the draft. (Interesting local side note: the Yankees selected pitcher Cam Schlittler, who made his debut last month, 11 picks later.)

He pitched to a 6.00 ERA in 21 innings in 2023 combined for the Rookie Ball Florida Complex League Mets and the Low-A St. Lucie Mets. Last year, he went 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, striking out 160 in 113 innings pitched across three levels, the highest being Double-A.

This year, he dominated. On May 10, he threw 6 2/3 perfect innings with 13 strikeouts and was pulled one out short of a perfect game. (The game was scheduled to go seven innings because it was a doubleheader.)

“He’s pushed us,” Stearns said. “To his credit, he really conquered everything we put in front of him. He exceeded our expectations throughout the year, and he put himself in a position to be considered for a day like this.”

Jonah Tong. Photo by Steven Wojtowicz of Metsmerized

“I think it’s all about him dominating the minor leagues,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You can make a case alright it’s Double-A you want to give him a better look at the Triple-A level but man you know a couple of outings and I think it’s hard to keep him there. So here he is now. We knew we were going to need a sixth starter, and he put himself in the conversation, and here he is now going to get an opportunity for us.”

“I am not the biggest guy on the mound,” the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Tong told MLB.com last month. “It’s a weird delivery. It’s unique. I just started to try to emulate guys that I watch online, especially, like my dad and I bond over that. So Tim Lincecum is the easy one, everyone always sees that one. And then just try to stay within myself.”

He told SNY last month that he is ready to embrace New York City.

“I get some DMs (direct messages) here and there that are like ‘Yo man, I love you. Oh my gosh, you’re awesome’ and I’m like this is pretty cool, I don’t really know how to respond to that, but thanks. Being in New York, it’s undeniable. You can’t walk away from it. It’s just awesome. It feels like home.”