Mey Day! Hardest-throwing Triple-A pitcher makes MLB debut

CINCINNATI -- With the Reds demoting former closer Alexis Díaz on Thursday, the club promoted one of professional baseball's hardest-throwing pitchers. Right-handed reliever Luis Mey was recalled from Triple-A Louisville and made his big league debut during a 9-1 win over the Cardinals.

Mey threw a perfect ninth inning and struck out his first batter, pinch-hitter Nolan Gorman, with a 99.2 mph sinker. He opened with a first-pitch ball to Gorman.

“I was a little nervous, but it was nothing I couldn’t control," Mey said. "But after my first pitch I said, ‘OK, let’s get back on track to get some strikes and let’s see what happens.’”

Mey, 23, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as Cincinnati's No. 20 prospect -- in large part because of a big arm and the high velocity it can produce.

Standing at 6-foot-5, Mey has thrown 45 pitches at least 100 mph this season, by far the most by any Triple-A pitcher. That included reaching 103.5 mph on April 19 vs. Columbus. During the 2025 Spring Breakout game vs. Brewers prospects, he drew howls from his own dugout while frequently reaching 101 mph and touching 102 during one inning of work.

But while Mey routinely lights up the radar gun, he is still working through command issues.

“As his career has unfolded, he’s gone through the development process. He started out as a four-seam guy in the lower Minor Leagues. He’s since transitioned into more of a two-seam or sinker guy and has been able to keep the velocity," Jeremy Farrell, the Reds' player development director, said this week before Mey was called up.

"With as much movement as he gets, it’s just been about consistency and finding starting points within the zone to keep him on the plate long enough to keep him competitive in games.”

In 10 appearances for Louisville, Mey has a 4.00 ERA. In his nine innings, he has seven walks allowed with 10 strikeouts.

“Everybody in here knows I can throw hard," Mey said. "The thing I just have to learn is how to control my body, get a rhythm and just keep going. Fill the zone with strikes. They’re not going to hit the balls. They’re not going to swing at them.”

"As he’s gone along here," Farrell added, "he’s been met with challenges at each level. And with that comes the reality of facing better hitters. We’ve challenged him with more leverage situations in games in order to prepare him for what he may face when he does get to the big leagues. He’s tackled everything head-on. He’s answered challenges thus far.”

Added Reds skipper Terry Francona: “He’s got the arsenal. He’s not the finished product, and we know that."

After being hired by the Reds in October, Francona watched Mey pitch in one game during the Arizona Fall League season.

“I think I saw the best inning he’s ever had," Francona said. "I was like, ‘Holy [cow]!’ It was just a wipeout inning.”

On Thursday vs. St. Louis, Mey's velocity was not quite as fast as it was in the Minors. But 13 of his 15 pitches registered at least 98 mph and 10 of them were strikes. He maxed out at 101.3 mph.

“I was expecting a little more [velocity], but it was enough to get three outs," Mey said. "That’s the only thing that matters.”