You know that story about the cast of “Friends” and the trip they took to Las Vegas just before the show premiered?
James Burrows, the series director, reserved the center table at Spago restaurant for himself and the six actors, and he told them to remember that moment, and enjoy the ability to sit unnoticed in a crowded room. Because Burrows knew that after the first episode aired, they would never be able to simply relax anonymously in public ever again.
It kind of feels like perhaps the New York Mets should have had a similar conversation with Class A pitcher Raimon Gomez. Because after Saturday, Gomez will likely be no longer hidden under the team’s cloak of secrecy.
Pitching for the St. Lucie Mets against the Daytona Tortugas, Gomez unleashed a fastball to outfielder Carlos Sanchez on a 1-2 count with one out in the first inning. Sanchez was unable to swing at the heater, which caught the inside corner for strike three.
And then the scoreboard revealed the information that had the crowd buzzing: 104.5 mph.
Raimon Gomez Uncorks Fastball That Reaches 104.5 mph
It’s the fastest pitch thrown by anyone in professional baseball this season, according to Statcast, and the fastest pitch officially recorded by Statcast in the Minors over the past five years. The fastest pitch in the majors so far this season, thrown by Mason Miller of the Athletics, was 103.7 mph.
Gomez threw 12 pitches in that first inning at Clover Park; 11 of them reached triple digits. In his 3.0 innings of work, Gomez allowed no runs and no hits, striking out four while walking one.
The 23-year-old from Venezuela threw 38 pitches, with 23 of them hitting 100 mph or more. Including his previous outing, a 2.1-inning effort against the Tampa Tarpons, Gomez has topped the century mark on 40 of his last 82 pitches.
“We’re all pretty excited to watch him pitch this season,” said Mets senior vice president of player development Andy Green, hinting at a potential fast rise through the farm system.
Not bad for someone who hadn’t pitched at all in nearly two years.
Mets Kept Raimon Gomez’s Rehab Under Wraps to Avoid Potential Loss Via Rule 5 Draft
Signed by the Mets as an international free agent in 2021, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander pitched 12.1 innings of rookie ball that first summer, then got 47.2 innings of work for St. Lucie in 2022, going 4-5 with a 3.78 ERA and 54 strikeouts with 20 walks. But in 2023, after Gomez tossed only seven innings in three starts for the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones, he would be shut down and eventually had Tommy John surgery.
And thus began the Mets’ effort to keep things under wraps regarding Gomez’s rehabilitation.
In fall of 2024, Gomez had progressed to the point where he was ready to face hitters, which under normal circumstances would likely have meant sending Gomez along with other Mets minor-leaguers to an instructional league in the Dominican Republic, where he would have pitched to minor league hitters from other clubs. But the problem from the Mets standpoint was that scouts from those other clubs would have seen Gomez throw, which could very well have led to losing Gomez via the Rule 5 draft in December.
Instead, the Mets decided to keep Gomez secluded on their complex, pitching to their minor league players, away from curious eyes that could have reported back to the opposing front offices on Gomez’s enticing abilities.
“That is correct,” Mets director of player development Andrew Christie said. “He threw against Mets hitters. He did not throw against opposing hitters, where other teams could get a scouting report. That is correct.”
That scouting report would have noted Gomez’s four-seam fastball that sits in the high 90s and a befuddling slider in the mid 80s, along with a changeup that Gomez throws sparingly and a cutter that he has shown in the past. Gomez has also recently added a two-seam fastball.
“The four-seam and slider are his bread-and-butter,” Christie said. “His two-seam is relatively new. When you throw that hard, the pitch is going in on righties hard. He picked that up pretty quickly, which is good to see.”
And after a few years, it’s finally open to the public.
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Mets Unveil Secret Weapon, Who Unleashes Record-Setting Delivery