Prince of Queens Prospect Weekly: Tong Dominates at Triple-A, Robbins Earns His High-A Shot
By Olivia Reed ·
Prince of Queens Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Mets farm system.
Jonah Tong's Best Triple-A Start of the Year
Jonah Tong (AAA, RHP, Rank: 3) turned in 7.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless ball against Triple-A competition this week, walking two and striking out eight. He generated 13 whiffs on 88 pitches, a clean, dominant line that represents the version of Tong the Mets have been waiting on all summer. Across 23 Triple-A starts this season, he carries a 4.54 ERA with a 12.6% walk rate, numbers that reflect a pitcher who can miss bats but struggles to stay efficient. Over the last 30 days, the Tong we thought would be competing in New York has returned. In five outings across 25.2 innings at Syracuse, he owns a 2.45 ERA with a 24.3% strikeout rate and a 27.3% whiff rate, the command holding just enough to let the stuff take over.
The profile centers on a 60-grade four-seamer in the 95-97 range and a plus changeup that fades late against both sides. When those two pitches are tunneling cleanly, Tong is a genuinely difficult at-bat. The 50-grade slider gives right-handed hitters something to worry about on the inner third, but it has never been a true weapon, and the walks pile up in outings where he leans on it without conviction. His 46.8% strike rate for the season is below average and the pitch counts have been a persistent problem, but this week's seven-inning effort on 88 pitches is the efficiency number that gets attention. Three MLB spot starts this year produced a 3.60 ERA, and with the Mets managing their rotation late in the season, an opportunity to add to that sample feels close. The #4 starter projection is still the right read, and weeks like this one show why that ceiling is real.
Aiden Robbins Runs Through St. Lucie and Right Into Brooklyn
Aiden Robbins (A, OF, Rank: 1) went 7-for-26 with two home runs, a double, seven RBI, and four walks across his final week at St. Lucie before the Mets assigned him to Brooklyn on September 1. The week capped a strong late-season run at Low-A: over his last 30 days at St. Lucie, he slashed with a .378 on-base percentage and a .507 slugging mark across 82 plate appearances, posting five home runs, 15 RBI, and 11 walks against only 19 strikeouts. His 13.4% walk rate and 73.2% contact rate in that stretch show an approach that is holding up even as the power has developed faster than you might expect from a 21-year-old in his first full professional season. The promotion is a straightforward reward for production, and he went 3-for-7 with a homer and two RBI across his first eight Brooklyn plate appearances to open that account cleanly.
Robbins is a 55-power, 50-hit corner outfielder projecting to left field with a realistic second-division ceiling if the contact quality holds at higher levels. The swing has pull-side intent and some length, which generates the damage but also invites questions about whether breaking balls away will give him trouble as pitching gets sharper at High-A and beyond. His 43.1% swing rate and 73.4% contact mark for the season represent a disciplined, workable foundation. He did not have a 2025 professional season on record, so this is essentially a debut year at full-season ball, and five home runs and 18 RBI across 97 combined plate appearances put him ahead of any conservative early projection. The next two weeks at Brooklyn against High-A arms will offer the first meaningful read on how the tools translate against a step up in competition. I'd take the over on the 50 hit tool if the Brooklyn sample looks anything like what he just did in St. Lucie.
Quick Hits
Marco Vargas (AA, SS, Rank: 46) · went 10-for-24 with three doubles, a triple, two RBI, and three walks in 24 plate appearances, with seven strikeouts. The contact output matches what his 55 hit tool and all-fields approach promise, even if the power never really shows up in this profile. Over the last 30 days at Double-A, he is slashing .345/.391/.512 with three home runs and 15 RBI across 92 plate appearances, a stretch that complicates the modest 40 power grade considerably. The season strikeout rate at Double-A is 29.0%, elevated compared to last year's 20.1% at High-A, and the 31.5% K rate over the last month suggests that tick upward is real. Still, a 25-year-old shortstop prospect putting up these contact numbers at 21 at Double-A earns his attention.
Jacob Reimer (AA, 3B, Rank: 6) · collected seven hits, four doubles, five walks, and no RBI across 26 plate appearances. The power is a 55 grade on paper, and four doubles in a week is a reasonable expression of that, even if the zero-homer line keeps the raw total modest. Over the last 30 days at Binghamton, he is hitting .291/.370/.395 with a 17.0% strikeout rate, the strikeout number down significantly from his season mark of 23.6% at Double-A. His 13.4% walk rate for the year ranks among the better marks in the system, and the 73.2% contact rate is stable. At 22 with back-to-back strong Double-A stretches, Reimer is building the production case needed for a promotion to Syracuse.
Billy Amick (AAA, 3B, Rank: 23) · drove in five runs on four hits, including two home runs, across 20 plate appearances. His 60-grade raw power is the whole story at the plate, and the number keeps landing: 11 home runs over his last 30 days at Syracuse, 30 RBI in that same 93-plate-appearance stretch, and 35 total across all levels this year. The contact rate is a real concern at 62.6% and the season strikeout rate sits at 29.7%, but the damage when he does make contact is genuine. The path to an MLB job is a contact rate that stays above the floor, and the Triple-A sample is still young enough that the jury is deliberating.
Sammy Stafura (A+, SS, Rank: 13) · went 4-for-18 with two doubles and two home runs, adding three walks against three strikeouts. Stafura arrived from Pittsburgh on August 3 in exchange for Luke Weaver, and across 96 plate appearances with Brooklyn, he is slashing .235/.344/.407 with a 25.0% strikeout rate. The combined 2026 line is considerably more impressive: 22 home runs, a .543 slugging mark, and 22 steals across 355 plate appearances between Pittsburgh's and the Mets' systems. The 55-power profile and 55-speed athleticism are real, and the swing, while aggressive at a 55.1% swing rate, has produced at a High-A level. The contact rate of 64% is the number to watch.
Chris Suero (AA, C, Rank: 22) · posted three hits, a homer, five RBI, and eight walks against five strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. The eight-walk week is the Suero story in a box: a 60-speed catcher with a 16.2% walk rate on the year and 36 stolen bases, who gets on base at a high clip and then creates problems. The season batting average sits at .207 and the contact rate is 66%, both areas the 40 hit tool grade anticipates as concerns. His last 30 days include an 18.0% walk rate and a 23.0% strikeout rate, better swing-and-miss numbers than his season baseline. At 18 home runs on the year, the 50 power grade is already looking conservative.
Jefferson Rojas (AA, SS, Rank: 5) · went 6-for-23 with a double, two home runs, and five RBI across 23 plate appearances. Since joining Binghamton from the Royals organization, he is slashing .278/.323/.589 with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 99 plate appearances, a power surge that his 45-grade entering the year did not anticipate. His 76% contact rate and 16.2% strikeout rate this season remain the foundation of the profile, a contact bat with a fast, compact right-handed swing. The 22 combined home runs between his two Double-A stops make the power question much more interesting than it was in April.
Antonio Jimenez (A+, SS, Rank: 20) · hit two home runs and drove in two runs across 21 plate appearances, drawing a walk and hitting by pitch once while striking out four times. He is slashing .156/.269/.277 with Brooklyn this season across 201 plate appearances, a line that highlights the gap between his Low-A production (.247/.358/.414 at St. Lucie) and what High-A pitching has exposed. The plus arm and athleticism are legitimate tools, but the 68.7% contact rate and a .156 average at A+ are real flags for a profile that depends on offensive improvement. This week's power at least keeps the tool conversation alive.
Hayden Senger (AAA, C, Rank: 40) · went 5-for-11 with a double and an RBI across 11 plate appearances, adding no walks and no strikeouts. The zero-strikeout week fits the last-30-day picture at Syracuse, where he has posted a 10.2% strikeout rate, a 12.2% walk rate, and a .366 batting average across 49 plate appearances. The 35 hit tool and 40 power grades are the operative projections for a 29-year-old backup catcher, but the late-season contact surge is a legitimate bright spot. He has 10 home runs on the year at Triple-A and a defensive reputation that keeps him on the 26-man radar as an up-down option.
Justin Hagenman (MLB, RHP, Rank: 51) · was activated from the 60-day injured list (rib fracture) and threw 4.0 innings in his final rehab tune-up, allowing one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts while generating 14 whiffs. He then made his MLB start, pitching 3.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. The full rehab arc since returning has produced a 2.92 ERA and a 3.8% walk rate across 12.1 innings, a sharp command profile that has always been his carrying trait. A sinker-cutter combination out of a crossfire arm slot generates deception, and the 29.4% whiff rate in the rehab sample suggests the stuff is playing. At 29, the role is long reliever or spot starter, and the return line fits that job description.
Douglas Orellana (AA, RHP, Rank: 43) · worked 3.1 hitless, scoreless innings out of the Binghamton bullpen, walking two and striking out three while collecting eight whiffs. His last 30 days have produced a 2.38 ERA and a 32.9% whiff rate across 11.1 innings at Double-A, a significant improvement from a season ERA of 4.89 across 57 innings. The command still wobbles: a 13.2% walk rate for the year and a 40-grade control reading reflect a reliever who can miss bats but gives away free baserunners too regularly for a high-leverage projection. The stuff, a 94-96 fastball paired with a usable slider, gives him a path to a shuttle bullpen role if the walk rate settles.
Nick Morabito (MLB, CF, Rank: 25) · was recalled to the Mets on September 1, going 3-for-13 with a homer and two RBI across 13 plate appearances between his Triple-A week and his early MLB action. The 65-speed, 42-steal Triple-A season is the carrying trait, and the Mets brought him up as a September option who can change a game with his legs and cover the outfield corners. His .143/.250/.214 line across 16 MLB plate appearances reflects the 35-power, 45-hit challenge that bench outfielders face against big-league pitching, but the speed and contact rate (79.4% on the season) give the profile a floor that pure speed-and-defense types often cannot match.
Dylan Ross (AAA, RHP, Rank: 34) · was recalled by the Mets on September 1 and threw 1.0 scoreless inning with no strikeouts, then was optioned back to Syracuse on September 2. His Triple-A ERA sits at 6.94 across 36.1 innings this year, a number that reflects the walk rate (31 free passes) more than the stuff. The brief MLB look was a roster-management decision rather than a promotion based on performance, and the quick return to Syracuse tells the story.
Cole Mathis (A+, 3B, Rank: 18) · was activated from the seven-day injured list on September 2 and went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts across his first game back. His 2026 line at High-A (between Brooklyn and Salem-Red Sox in a prior stint) includes a .260/.371/.490 line with three home runs across 116 plate appearances at A+, making the IL time the primary obstacle to what has otherwise been a productive season. The power grade is real, and the return line is too small to read anything into.
Will Watson (AA, RHP, Rank: 15) · returned from the 60-day injured list and threw 3.0 innings at Binghamton, allowing one run on two walks against two strikeouts. His season at Double-A has been rough when healthy: a 7.83 ERA across 23 innings with a 14-walk, 21-strikeout split. The return appearance was functional but unspectacular, and the walk rate remains the question that needs an answer before the projection gets comfortable.