Mey Day a Flamethrower in Cincinnati

Mey is a big guy who throws hard. He had more pitches clocked over 100 miles an hour than anyone in the minor leagues, getting up to over 103 at times.

"I was feeling a little nervous, but it was nothing that I could not control," Mey said. "After my first pitch, I said let's get back on track, throw strikes, and let's see what happens."

Mey was the third rookie to appear in his first game, joining Chase Petty and Tyler Callihan on Wednesday.

He made a name for himself in the Arizona Fall League.

“He’s not the finished product, we know that. He needs to be more consistent, but he has the arsenal,” Reds manager. Terry Francona said before the game on Thursday. “I saw him in the Fall League. I may have seen his best inning. It was a wipeout inning.”

Mey’s performance in the Fall League opened eyes across the organization.

The fireballing 23-year-old had been wearing out the radar guns late in the game for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

Using the nickname of the fictional closer Sam “Mayday” Malone from the TV sitcom Cheers, and until this year, Mey has flown under the radar.

He was signed as a free agent out of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic at the age of 16 in 2018.

Mey spent four years at Dayton before a promotion to Chattanooga.

Mey has thrown the top 16 in fastball velocity as the league has equipped all the ballparks with the technology for the first time.

The top five fastballs by the 23-year-old right-hander, who stands 6’5” and carries 235 pounds, are 101.8, 101.7, 101.7, 101.6, and 101.5. No other pitcher in the league has topped 100 mph.

Mey finished five games by October 30, with four saves. He has fanned six batters and walked one in 5 ⅔ innings, scoreless, hitless innings.

Mey pitched in Goodyear, then was sent to Louisville to find that elusive consistency.

He pitched in 10 games at Louisville, totalling nine innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, but he walked seven. Mey struck out 10.

“Everybody in here (clubhouse) knows I can throw hard. The thing I have to learn is how to control my body, get a rhythm, and keep going,” Mey said.