Simon Juan
Week: 5 G, 17 AB, .529/.571/1.177, 9 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, 2/3 SB (Rookie)
2024 Season: 31 G, 115 AB, .304/.372/.565, 35 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 13 BB, 29 K, 3/4, .350 BABIP (Rookie)
Dominican outfielder Simon Juan was made an offer by the Mets that the 16-year-old that he and his family found acceptable, and Juan signed with the Mets for $1.9 million on January 15, 2022. He made his professional debut with the DSL Mets later in the year and hit .219/.310/.323 in 53 games with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts, and 20 walks to 54 strikeouts. He was ranked 24 on Amazin’ Avenue’s Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2023 that winter, and then was sent stateside for the 2023 season. Appearing in 40 games for the FCL Mets, the 17-year-old hit .220/.293/.303 with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 1 stolen base in 3 attempts, and drew 12 walks to 39 strikeouts. He remained in the FCL to start this season, and is making a case to be promoted to St. Lucie sooner rather than later, hitting .304/.372/.565 in 31 games with a league-leading 7 homers, 3 stolen bases, and a solid 10.1% walk rate to a equally acceptable 22.5% strikeout rate.
Juan stands square at the plate, holding his hands high at his head and wrapping his bat behind his head at around 2:00. At times, he swings with a toe tap/slight leg kick while at other times, he swings with a much more exaggerated leg kick. He has a long-levered right-handed swing that will make him susceptible to strikeouts but allows him to tap into his natural strength. In 2023, while playing in the Dominican Summer League, he logged multiple hits with registered exit velocities near or exceeding 100 MPH. Juan’s groundball rate has not been much of an issue so far this season, against FCL defenses, but it may be a red flag going forward; the outfielder currently has a 51.9% groundball rate. As evidenced by his .350 BABIP, Juan has no problems stinging the ball hard enough to get past the infield, but he will need to lift the ball more going forward as he inevitably progresses up the minor league ladder. As evidenced by his .261 ISO and 25.9% HR/FB rate, when he puts the ball in the air, good things happen, but he needs to put the ball in the air more than he currently is, and more than he historically has as well- in 2023, the outfielder posted a 45.5% groundball rate in the FCL, and in 2022, a 49.0% rate in the DSL.
Juan already shows the ability to integrate his above-average speed into his offensive game, stretching hits, taking extra bases on the basepaths, and stealing bases, and should be able to integrate into his defensive ability as well. At 6’2”, 195-pounds, Juan is athletic but thick around the torso; he is unlikely to add too much more height or muscle mass. He has enough range to play center field for the near foreseeable future, and if he slows down as he ages, he has an above-average arm that will fit in right field.
Jonah Tong
Week: 1 G (1 GS), 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K (High-A)
2024 Season: 4 G (2 GS), 18.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER (0.00 ERA), 5 BB, 36 K, .269 BABIP (Single-A) / 9 G (9 GS), 36.2 IP, 31 H, 19 R, 15 ER (3.68 ERA), 20 BB, 45 K, .303 BABIP (High-A)
Tong got off to a phenomenal start, dominating Single-A hitters. He was unscored upon in 18.2 innings and scattered just 7 hits and allowed 5 walks while striking out 36, a 2.4 BB/9 rate and a 17.4 K/9 rate. After being promoted on April 29th, the right-hander has slowed down a bit but is still putting up solid numbers. In 9 starts with Brooklyn now, the Canadian right-hander has a 3.68 ERA over 36.2 innings, with 31 hits allowed, 20 walks, and 45 strikeouts.
In addition to the high number of swings-and-misses he was racking up in St. Lucie, Tong was also generating a ton of groundballs. All in all, he had a 50.0% groundball rate to a 20.8% flyball rate, a 2.4 GB:FB ratio. In Brooklyn now, those rates have drastically changed; he currently has a 38.0% groundball rate and a 40.2% flyball rate. While not necessarily a bad thing, because sliders, curveballs, and changeups can induce weak contact resulting in lazy flyballs, Tong is going to have more success keeping the ball on the ground rather than in the air, especially as he eventually moves up the minor league ladder to Binghamton and/or Syracuse in the coming years.
