Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

It’s never clear how much weight to put on a pitcher’s performance in the Arizona Fall League, but the Reds saw enough from Mey, who signed back in July of 2018 for $50,000, to add him to the 40-man roster this past offseason rather than risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft. Mey has long shown off premium arm strength and velocity but rarely seemed to have an idea of where it was going, with a career 7.1 walks per nine rate to prove the point. The hope is that the hard-throwing reliever who touched Double-A for the first time in 2024 has figured it out enough that the two walks and one hit he allowed in eight appearances in the fall are a sign that things are clicking.

During his AFL stint especially, Mey went right after hitters with a two-pitch mix. His fastball averaged around 99 mph and touched 102 in Arizona, and it’s a nasty sinker that misses bats and gets groundball outs. His upper-80s slider is a true strikeout pitch and generated huge miss rates even when he was struggling in past seasons.

Mey has put in a lot of work regarding his mental approach on the mound, which he has pointed to as the real reason for his control issues. He mitigated damage well, not letting things like falling behind snowball on him, leading to more strikes and success. If that sticks, he could impact the Reds’ big league bullpen soon.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Mey signed with the Reds for just $50,000 at the start of the 2018-19 international signing period. He missed a lot of bats right out of the gate, but had trouble gaining any traction because of poor command, spending three seasons with Single-A Daytona and missing much of 2023 with shoulder fatigue. He finally moved up to High-A Dayton to start the 2024 season and was promoted to Double-A, but his strike-throwing issues made it unclear if he’d be protected on the 40-man roster from the Rule 5 Draft, until he had a huge showing in the Arizona Fall League, allowing just one hit in eight appearances while limiting his walks to earn a coveted roster spot.

At his best, like he was in the Fall League, Mey goes right after hitters with a nasty two-pitch mix. It starts with his high-octane fastball, which averaged around 99 mph and touched 102 in Arizona this fall. He throws it with sink, both missing bats and getting ground-ball outs with the pitch. He complements it with an upper-80s slider that is a true strikeout pitch.

Before the AFL, Mey had walked 7.1 per nine innings in his Minor League career. The work he did on his mental approach enabled him to not let things snowball in the Fall League as they had in the past, and if those adjustments are real, he has the chance to get high-leverage innings in the big leagues soon.

After the Reds went all-in on the international market during the 2016-17 signing period, doling out more than $16 million to three prospects, they were in the penalty for the next two signing periods, unable to give more than $300,000 to any one player. They still found a potential Major League-caliber arm in Mey, who they signed at the start of the 2018-19 period out of the Dominican Republic for $50,000. He made his professional debut in 2019 and in the United States, as a starter in the Rookie-level Arizona League. The numbers (8.39 ERA, 2.32 WHIP) weren’t pretty, but the Reds still very much like his live arm.

Mey is all about arm strength. The right-hander has thrown his fastball up to 99 mph and averages 96-97 mph in one-inning relief appearances. The rest of his stuff lags behind the heater, but is improving. His changeup is fringy, but is getting better and is currently his best secondary offering. The slider is below average and lacks power, but he’s also managed to make strides with the pitch.

While Mey walked 6.4 per nine in his pro debut, he should have better command than that in the future. Still just 19 at the start of the 2021 season, there’s plenty of time for him to harness his stuff as he adds strength and learns to repeat his delivery more. His future almost certainly lies in the bullpen, but there’s considerable upside in him having a high-leverage role down the line.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/09/2025	Cincinnati Reds optioned RHP Luis Mey to Louisville Bats.
	03/06/2025	activated RHP Luis Mey.
	11/26/2024	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Estrellas Orientales.
	11/19/2024	Cincinnati Reds selected the contract of RHP Luis Mey from Chattanooga Lookouts.
	11/08/2024	National League Fall Stars activated RHP Luis Mey.
	09/25/2024	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Glendale Desert Dogs.
	07/09/2024	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Chattanooga Lookouts from Dayton Dragons.
	04/02/2024	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Dayton Dragons from Daytona Tortugas.
	12/08/2023	Tigres de Aragua released RHP Luis Mey.
	11/07/2023	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Tigres de Aragua.
	09/05/2023	Daytona Tortugas activated RHP Luis Mey from the 7-day injured list.
	05/16/2023	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Daytona Tortugas from ACL Reds.
	05/16/2023	Daytona Tortugas placed RHP Luis Mey on the 7-day injured list.
	04/06/2023	RHP Luis Mey assigned to ACL Reds.
	09/23/2022	Daytona Tortugas activated RHP Luis Mey from the 7-day injured list.
	09/06/2022	Daytona Tortugas placed RHP Luis Mey on the 7-day injured list retroactive to September 5, 2022.
	08/30/2022	Daytona Tortugas activated RHP Luis Mey.
	08/23/2022	Daytona Tortugas transferred RHP Luis Mey to the Development List.
	11/05/2021	Daytona Tortugas activated RHP Luis Mey from the 60-day injured list.
	08/20/2021	Daytona Tortugas placed RHP Luis Mey on the 60-day injured list. Right elbow inflammation.
	06/26/2021	Daytona Tortugas placed RHP Luis Mey on the 7-day injured list. Right elbow inflammation.
	05/24/2021	RHP Luis Mey assigned to Daytona Tortugas from AZL Reds.
	06/17/2019	RHP Luis Mey assigned to AZL Reds.
	07/02/2018	Cincinnati Reds signed free agent RHP Luis Mey to a minor league contract.