Alex Reyes is back, so let's remind ourselves how awesome he is

Alex Reyes took the mound today during the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Brewers -- his first MLB start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in February 2017. The hard-throwing righty pitched four scoreless innings, before being lifted for precautionary reasons. He told MLB.com's Joe Trezza postgame that he felt fatigue, but had no pain throwing.

Still just 23 years old and rookie eligible (he's younger than rookies Shohei Ohtani and Walker Buehler), Reyes and his exceptional arsenal earned the promotion after four dominant rehab starts at four different Minor League levels. Reyes' line in those four starts: 23 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 BB, 44 K. Is that good?

Before Reyes makes his much-anticipated return, let's remember just how awesome he was before getting hurt.
While Reyes was hyped considerably when he signed, his true breakout came in 2015 when he reached Double-A as a 20-year-old. His triple-digit heat and PG-13-rated curveball were catching the eyes of scouts and Cardinals fans alike, who realized that he was already one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. MLB Pipeline ranked Reyes as the No. 7 overall prospect entering the 2016 season. 
When Reyes got the start for the World Team in the 2016 Futures Game, we got an immediate taste of how electric he could be. 
100-mph sinker? Check:

Devastating breaking ball? Check:

He showed us more of the same in his MLB debut about a month later. His first strikeout victim, Adam Duvall, saw both the breaker and the heat in the same at-bat:

It wasn't just the stuff -- the numbers were there at the big league level, too. As a 22-year-old, Reyes posted a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings with 52 strikeouts for the Cardinals down the stretch in 2016, including one dynamite start in San Francisco on Sept. 18: 

Oh, yeah -- he's got a changeup, too. Welcome back, Alex. Cardinals fans: Prepare your fire emojis.