Canada will be without one of its young starting pitchers for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
On Thursday, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported that New York Mets’ prospect, Jonah Tong, won’t play for Canada when the World Baseball Classic begins in March.
Jonah Tong has confirmed that he will not play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
He wanted to play, but understandable decision for the young righty who debuted last summer with Mets and has a good opportunity in camp this spring.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 29, 2026
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Tong is a top 100 prospect in baseball. In MLB Pipeline’s pre-season top 100, the right-handed pitcher ranked as the 48th-best prospect in baseball thanks to a strong mid-90s fastball, as well as a plus changeup, average curveball, and fringe slider.
Drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 draft by the Mets, the Markham native didn’t have a great professional debut season in 2023, but finished the 2024 season with a 3.03 ERA and 2.33 FIP in 113 innings pitched. Last season is where Tong really made his mark, throwing 102 innings in Double-A where he had a 1.59 ERA and 1.72 FIP, while throwing 11 and two-thirds scoreless innings in Triple-A.
As a whole, Tong finished his minor league season with a 40.5 K%, up from his 34.2 K% in 2024. His 179 strikeouts were the most in the minor leagues, with current Toronto Blue Jays prospect Trey Yesavage and Gage Stanifer also ranking in the top 10.
Just like Yesavage, Tong got a call up to the big leagues toward the end of the season. However, he didn’t find nearly the same success, authoring a 7.71 ERA and 4.31 FIP in 18.2 innings pitched over five outings. His fastball didn’t have nearly the same effect on big league hitters (yet), as the right-handed pitcher had a 25.3 K%, with a 10.3 BB%.
Team Canada will be in Pool A with Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, and Colombia. The games will be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico from March 6th to March 11th. Canada plays Colombia on March 7th, Panama on March 8th, Puerto Rico on March 10th, and Cuba on March 11th.
The top two teams are the only team that progress to the knockout stages, so Canada will need to find a way to win a game against either Cuba or Puerto Rico to guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals.
It’s going to be a busy year for international sports. In February, National Hockey League players will be eligible to play in the Olympics for the first time since 2014. After the WBC is the World Cup, which will be held in June and July.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.