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    Luis Mey (Photo: Meeks and Norris Photography)
    Photo: Meeks and Norris Photography/Chattanooga Lookouts

    Cincinnati Reds #24 Prospect: Luis Mey – RHP

    Doug Gray 14

    The 2023 season for Luis Mey was one that saw him miss several months with two different injuries and he only threw 16.2 innings for Daytona in the season. He was able to throw an additional 8.1 innings in winter league baseball after the minor league season came to an end.

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    Healthy to start 2024, Luis Mey began his season with the High-A Dayton Dragons. He picked up a save in each of his first two outings of the year. The next time he took the mound, though, he was pitching in the 5th inning of a game in Fort Wayne and escaped with 1.1 shutout innings despite three walks and a hit allowed. The control problems didn’t go away over his next three outings as he walked five batters in five innings and that gave him at least one walk in all six of his appearances in April.

    When May began for the right-handed reliever he picked up his first outing without a walk, but his next outing saw him walk two batters. The inconsistency continued from there over the next six weeks as he handed out 10 walks in 15.1 innings but only allowed four earned runs (2.35 ERA) thanks to giving up just five hits and no home runs. In his last outing of June he allowed two earned earned runs – the first two he had allowed in over a month – while walking three batters in the process. His next two outings saw him toss 3.0 shutout innings and get promoted to Double-A Chattanooga.

    Mey pitched his first game with the Lookouts on July 10th and struck out three batters in a perfect 1.2 innings. Three days later he allowed two runs in 2.0 innings to the same Biloxi team he faced in his Double-A debut. With the All-Star break that followed, he went 10 days between outings but he didn’t give up an earned run over the next month while throwing 10.1 innings. That streak came to an end when he gave up three runs in just the second time during the year where he had to pitch on back-to-back days. Three days later the Trash Pandas got to him for another run.

    Over the next three weeks he continued to battle inconsistency with the strikezone, but allowed just three runs in 9.0 innings pitched. His season came to an end on September 13th when he gave up three earned runs in 1.2 innings against Rocket City.

    Following the regular season the Reds sent Luis Mey to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. He pitched well with Glendate, picking up six saves in eight games without allowing a run, walking just two batters, and giving up just one hit in 8.2 innings while striking out eight. But after that he went and pitched in six games in the Dominican Winter League and walked nine batters in 5.0 innings while striking out five.

    For all 2024 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

    Luis Mey Scouting Report

    Position: Rightt-handed pitcher | B/T: R/R

    Height: 6′ 3″ | Weight: 242 lbs. | Acquired: International FA (2018) | Born: June 24, 2001

    Fastball | Plus-lus velocity shows up on the 2-seamer from Mey. He averaged nearly 100 MPH and topped out at 103 MPH.

    Slider | A power slider that works in the mid-to-upper 80’s that will flash itself as an above-average pitch.

    Very few people alive throw harder than Luis Mey does. He’s capable of missing bats with his fastball and the pitch also helps him generate a high rate of grounders. While his slider isn’t nearly as good as his fastball, it’s a solid offering and can be better than that at times.

    The issue is that he simply can’t throw enough strikes. It’s been an issue since his pro debut and hasn’t really improved. With Mey, it’s pretty simple – he’s going to have to cut down on the walks or he’s not going to stick around in the big leagues, if he even gets there. Added to the 40-man roster in November helps his odds of getting at least a cup of coffee, but if he’s going to be more than a guy who gets a few innings here or there then his ability to throw more strikes consistently is going to have to get better than it is today. And by quite a bit.

    Stats

    Video

    Interesting Stat on Luis Mey

    Right-handed batters had 107 at-bats against him in 2024 and had just 14 hits (.131 average) and slugged just .159 (three doubles, no other extra-base hits).

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    14 Responses

    2. I think they made the right call adding Mey to the 40 man roster. Even though he should still be starting in AA, that’s the kind of raw arm talent you give time to see if he can figure out the control enough, because he can absolutely be a high leverage guy if the walks get to below even 4 per 9.

    3. 0 home runs allowed. That’s huge for a reliever and why I don’t sweat the walk rate so much, although it needs to come down. Mey has the kind of power arm the Reds bullpen is lacking.
      His slider looks pretty flat. I almost wonder if a splitter would serve him better.

      1. JJ Cooper said Sal Romano didn’t have a heavy sinker, he had a plutonium one. (a very heavy metal for those on the back).

        Mey’s is better. Watching him in the AFL, throwing 100 mph sinkers was astounding. Made the hitters look like they had bats made of swimming pool noodles.

        Maybe we can say Mey has a death metal sinker?

        Cue random death metal voice.

        1. If we’re going to cue random death metal, I am offering up Deththeme by Dethklok (the opening theme song for Metaloalypse).

        2. True story. When my son was 12, he asked to go to a metal show. I said, OK, but we’re gonna be in the seats, not on the floor, OK? S-e-a-t-s.

          Half way through, he says he has to use the bathroom … five minutes later, I see him going into The Pit.

          I would have had to stage a daring rescue, or face penalty of death at home, but I saw 3-4 big kids taking care of him. So, rock on. Little Man, rock on.

          Parenting in the 2000’s …

    4. Hopefully our pitching stays on the healthy side, and we don’t need to rush up young arms before they’re ready.

      Mey, Maxwell, and reliever of the year Miller all seem like they could be ready to really help the pen in 2026.

      1. In watching that highlight real, there was only 1 maybe 2 good pitches. The rest of them had very poor location. Hoping he cleans that up this season.

      2. I would not count on any of them until the first two show way better control or the latter shows he can pitch at higher levels with similar success.

        1. Sure, they are not ready to help yet. I’m aware most prospects fail to make it to the MLB, and more fail to become effective MLBers.

          That’s why I’m hoping they don’t get rushed up like this organization often does. “if he can throw a 100 in the minors, he can throw a hundred here” That was the thoughts on Bailey from a “baseball guy”.

          Greene, and Lodolo came up at least a half season too early, if not a whole season, and we rushed Lowder up last year in a similar early like Greene and Lodolo.

          These all happened because the organization didn’t have the proper depth to let pitchers develop either do to trading away player who we had no ready replacements for, or too many injuries than the thin depth could handle.

          Mey, and Maxwell are nearing the end of their development, and neither has been able to improve their control to any significant degree. They do however have the physical gifts you want to see with a high leverage reliever. I want to see them as Reds only when they show they can consistently throw strikes. Their stuff is already there, it’s the control issue for them.

    5. He’s making his MLB debut this season. May be 5-10 ip, may be 20+. If it’s more than 30 they found a gold mine or they’re losing 90+ games.

    6. I wonder if his control issues are based upon a common attempt to overthrow the pitch? Would he be wise to maybe cut back on the speed of the sinker? They can react in different ways at different speeds.

      1. It could possibly be that, but watching him a few times this year and a few clips of him on here, it seems he doesn’t repeat his motion very well and he often times falls off to first base not from finishing his pitches, but from being off balance. I would like to see him get more consistent with his lower half through out his delivery. Most likely it is a combination of a few things (including over throwing), same as most other things are.

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