by How hard does he throw?
Velocity. It’s the first thing most people want to know when learning about a pitcher.
Right now, the Brooklyn Cyclones have the hardest thrower in baseball. Not the hardest thrower in the South Atlantic League. Not the hardest thrower in the minor leagues. The hardest thrower in baseball, full stop.
His name is Raimon Gómez.
“It’s eye-opening,” Cyclones manager Gilbert Gómez said. “It’s something that you don’t see every day.”
On April 26, for Single-A St. Lucie, Raimon Gómez threw a fastball that registered at 104.5 mph. It was a strike, too, called on the inside corner for the punchout.
It was the fastest pitch ever tracked by Statcast in the minor leagues since the tracking data became available in the Florida State League in 2021. It has also been available in Triple-A since 2023.
No minor leaguer had ever been tracked throwing 104 mph before Raimon Gómez, and only two other pitchers have ever been tracked throwing 103 mph. Reds rookie Luis Mey hit 103 mph twice in 2023 and once in 2025, and Brewers prospect Jacob Misiorowski did so once this year as well.
Raimon Gómez did it 10 times.
It is also faster than any pitch thrown in the majors this season.
Mason Miller currently holds the top spot with a 103.9 mph fastball thrown for a ball to Wilmer Flores, a ball, and one in a plate appearance that would eventually end in a walk-off walk for Flores. Aroldis Chapman has the hardest pitch thrown for a strike, a 103.8 mph sinker to Blaine Crim.
There have been just 10 total pitches thrown at 103 mph or faster this year in Major League Baseball. Miller has six of them, Chapman has three, and Ben Joyce has one. No one has hit 104 to this point in 2025.
In the pitch-tracking era (2008 on), there have only been 109 pitches thrown at least 104 mph at the major league level. Chapman has 70 of them, Jordan Hicks has 13 and Joyce has 11, the only three pitchers in double-digits. The rest of the list is Jhoan Duran with 9, Ryan Helsley with 2, and Mauricio Cabrera, Neftalí Feliz, Camilo Doval and Tayron Guerrero all with one.
Raimon Gómez stands alone at the major and minor league levels in 2025. He stands alone at the minor league level all-time. His only company in the 104 mph club all-time is in the big leagues.
‘[I] was really surprised when [I] saw [I] threw that hard,” Raimon Gómez said while his teammate, Chris Suero, was acting as a translator.
He doesn’t average 104.5 mph on his fastball — no one in baseball history has done that — but he still consistently throws gas. His 100.0 mph average fastball velocity at Single-A was the highest in the minors among pitchers with at least 25 fastballs thrown, making him the only minor league pitcher to average triple digits on his heater.
In 2025, there are just four qualified major league pitchers to throw a pitch that averages triple digits. The aforementioned Miller and Duran are joined by Seth Halvorsen as the only three to average 100 mph on their four-seam fastball, and Champan still averages 100 mph on his sinker at 37 years old.
Raimon Gómez has also already thrown 86 pitches tracked in the triple digits, the sixth-most in minor league history. He trails just Justin Martinez, Zach Maxwell, Daniel Palencia, Mey and Paul Skenes.
At 23 years old, his velocity is elite.
“Everybody knows what he brings, high-octane fastball, he was able to touch 100 today,” Gilbert Gómez said. “But just the way that he’s grown up. His body looks very much better than before. He seems like he’s in a better spot, understanding the game, slowing the game down. We’re looking forward to see how he can handle a higher level of competition.”
Raimon Gómez has only been a Cyclone this season for a little over a week, but it’s not his first time wearing a Brooklyn uniform. In 2023, he pitched in three games for the Cyclones before Tommy John Surgery cost him the rest of 2023 and all of 2024.
He said his rehab was difficult, and he had a complication that caused a setback, but he was able to get through it.
“It got to a point where [my] energy was a bit low, and [I] was kind of, just, not as confident as before,” Raimon Gómez said. “But [I] did get out of that.”
He also said the work he did during his rehab has helped him maintain his velocity deep into outings.
“While [I] was in rehab [I] worked very hard, and [I] keep up with that to this day,” Raimon Gómez said. “That’s what helps [me] be consistent with velo.”
His first game this season for St. Lucie on April 9 was his first game in nearly two full calendar years. He dominated Single-A, appearing in six games (three starts) and allowing just one earned run in 13 innings. On May 12, he earned a promotion to Brooklyn.
On May 15, he stepped on the Maimonides Park mound for the first time since the injury. He threw 1 and ⅓ innings in relief and gave up no runs, one hit, one walk and struck out one.
His fastball steals the show, but he also has a slider that has promise. Gilbert Gómez called it a plus pitch thanks to its velocity and depth, but also very much a work in progress. At 90.1 mph, it’s the hardest average slider velocity of any slider in the Mets system and the 13th-highest in baseball.
He’s a two-pitch pitcher, so even though he’s started a handful of games this season, he’s ticketed for the bullpen long term. Both of his appearances for the Cyclones this season have been out of the bullpen, but Gilbert Gómez didn’t close the door on him eventually being stretched out to start.
“I think right now we’re putting him in the pen,” Gilbert Gómez said. “It seems like that’s the way to go. But I wouldn’t doubt that if he continues to build himself up, he can potentially be a starter, if he can develop a third pitch. But, worst case scenario, you can put him in the pen, and obviously the fastball-slider combo should work.”
As with many flamethrowers, his command is spotty. He punched out 20 in his 13 innings in St. Lucie, but also walked 10. His 36.4% strikeout percentage was 17th-best among 150 pitchers in the Florida State League with at least 10 innings pitched, but his 18.2% walk percentage was 19th-worst.
“Now it’s like, ‘How can I zone it up consistently? How can I actually use that pitch to continue to fill up the strike zone and miss bats?’” Gilbert Gómez said. “We want this guy to pitch in the big leagues, so let’s see how he can transition from being a thrower to becoming a pitcher. And I think he has all the makings to do that.”
Raimon Gómez has his eyes on the big leagues sooner than people might expect.
“[My] goal is to debut this year,” Raimon Gómez said.
The Brooklyn Cyclones season is underway! For promotion and ticket information, visit www.milb.com/brooklyn.
