Raimon Gomez’s 104 MPH Fastball Puts Mets Righthander On Potential Fast Track To MLB

In the same game, Gomez, who came into the season as the Mets’ No. 26 prospect, sat at 101.8 mph with his fastball and threw eight pitches 103 mph or harder. Gomez has now thrown seven of the 10 hardest pitches in Statcast parks (MLB, Triple-A and the Florida State League) this year. Only two pitches by Mason Miller (103.7 mph and 103.2) and a 103.4 mph fastball by Aroldis Chapman have interloped on Gomez’s fastball dominance.

Again, this isn’t a shocking development of newfound velocity for Gomez. He showed a great arm before a 2023 elbow injury and was highlighted as a prospect to watch for the Rule 5 draft last offseason.

But the ability to get to 104 mph puts Gomez in very rarefied air, one that could virtually assure him of having at least some sort of MLB career.

There have been 30 other pitchers we can document as having touched 102 mph or harder in the minors since 2021. Of those, 21 have pitched in the major leagues. 

That list includes Twins closer Jhoan Duran, A’s closer Mason Miller, Orioles closer Felix Bautista and Giants setup man/closer Camilo Doval. Starters Hunter Greene, Paul Skenes and Joe Boyle make the list, too. There is also a larger number of relievers in the category who range from bullpen fixtures (Brusdar Graterol, Justin Martinez and Jose Marte) to up-and-down arms (Alex Speas, Julian Fernandez and Junior Fernandez).

Of the other nine who have not appeared at the MLB level, five are ranked prospects in the upper levels of the minors who can be expected to reach the majors this season. Only one of those 30 (Melvin Adon) is no longer in an MLB organization and never reached the majors.

What’s notable about this list is we haven’t controlled for anything other than top-of-the-scale velocity. There’s no cutoff to ignore wild flamethrowers who walk almost everyone. The straightest four-seam fastball makes the cut. A pitcher who can’t stay healthy but touched 102 mph still makes the list.

So, even with just one standout trait, we can safely say that a pitcher is highly likely to be a major leaguer in this case. Why? because there aren’t many individual attributes that bear a stronger correlation to reaching the big leagues than top-of-the-scale velocity. 

Players with that kind of velocity keep getting chances to figure things out when they fail. There are plenty of other options if you’re looking for control artists. Every team has pitchers who can spin a quality breaking ball. But even in an era in which velocity can be improved with training, few pitchers can throw 102. So when a pitcher like that struggles, he’ll get another shot. And another. Eventually, he may start to figure things out.

We have historical data that proves this.

In 2016, Baseball America compiled a list every MiLB pitcher who threw a pitch 100+ mph that season. In all, we found 71 pitchers documented as touching triple digits. Of those 71, 47 (66%) would go on to pitch in the major leagues. Of the 23 who found an extra tick to get to 101 mph, 17 (74%) would pitch in the majors. And of the 11 who reached 102 mph or above, 10 (91%) pitched in the majors.

When we reported a similar list of 100 mph minor leaguers in 2018, we compiled 77 pitchers who reached triple digits that year. Of those, 68 (88%) would go on to pitch in the majors in some role. Some of those pitchers had very brief MLB careers. Some went on to be stars. But if you are looking for indicators for a future big leaguer, extreme velocity is one of the most useful markers.

Gomez is currently in Low-A, so he’s a ways off from pitching at the MLB level. But that’s in part to let him get re-acclimated after a lost 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. With his kind of velocity, we already know he’s very likely to be a big leaguer.

The biggest question is how quickly he’ll move.

Last year, Dodgers righthander Edgardo Henriquez and his 103 mph fastball went from Low-A to the major leagues in the span of a season. Gomez and his own blazing fastball could be on a similar fast track.

MiLB 102 MPH Club (2021-25)

Pitcher	Current role
Abner Uribe	Brewers reliever
Alex Speas	Twins AAA, has pitched in MLB in 2 bullpens
Brusdar Graterol	Dodgers setup man
Camilo Doval	Giants setup man/closer
Daniel Palencia	Cubs reliever
Edgar Isea	D-backs High-A reliever
Edgardo Henriquez	Dodgers reliever/On IL with fractured foot
Emiliano Teodo	Rangers No. 4 prospect
Felix Bautista	Orioles closer
Gregory Santos	Mariners reliever
Hunter Greene	Reds ace
Jarlin Susana	Nationals No. 3 prospect
Jhoan Duran	Twins closer
Joe Boyle	Rays AAA SP, has made 2 MLB starts
Joel Peguero	Giants AAA
Jose Marte	Angels reliever
Julian Fernandez	Dodgers AAA, has pitched in Rockies bullpen
Junior Fernandez	Royals AAA, pitched in Cardinals’ MLB bullpen
Justin Martinez	D-backs closer
Luis Medina	A’s starting pitcher/On IL for TJ surgery
Luis Mey	Reds No. 16 prospect
Mason Miller	A’s closer
Melvin Adon	Released
Michel Otanez	A’s reliever/IL with shoulder impingement
Paul Skenes	Pirates ace
Raimon Gomez	Mets No. 26 prospect
Reynaldo Yean	Dodgers No. 30 prospect
Sam Knowlton	D-backs High-A reliever
Seth Halvorsen	Rockies reliever
Will Klein	Mariners AAA, 8 MLB appearances last year.
Zach Maxwell	Reds No. 15 prospect