The Jenrry Mejia story is accelerating faster than a defective Toyota without brakes.

Making his second appearance of the spring Monday, Mejia pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one single, against the Marlins. Last Friday, Mejia made his first appearance, allowing one hit in 2 1/3 innings pitched. Mejia’s current line: 5 1/3 IP, 0 runs, two hits, 5 K’s, 0 walks.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel ignored Omar Minaya’s promise to start the 20-year old at Double-A Binghamton, telling the media, “Oh, man, I’ll tell you … Mejia is No. 76, Frankie is No. 75. They might follow each other down there … my goodness, impressive. It’s his stuff. At this stage it’s dominating hitters.”

Is Mejia for real? Rod Barajas caught him Monday and added, “With stuff like that, he can pitch anywhere. Age-wise, he’s the best I’ve seen.”

The reports out of St. Lucie are exciting. After watching Mejia throw a bullpen session last week, Darryl Strawberry and Manuel compared the movement on Mejia’s cutter to — are you sitting down — Mariano Rivera.

Strawberry to MLB.com: “You know how something happens every spring that no one expects? I already know what it is this year … that Mejia kid. Did you see him today? Awesome. That ball cuts. It’s natural, too. I honestly can say I’ve never seen anyone else throw a pitch like that except for Mariano. He’s got a natural gift. What an arm!”

Strawberry to the New York Daily News: “I went to Omar and told him, ‘You’ve got to make this guy a closer.’ I’d definitely put him in the pen this year, I don’t care if he’s only 20. He’s got a pitch that guys can’t hit. He’s the only guy I’ve ever seen that reminds me of Mariano Rivera. I’m telling you. I played with Mo, I saw it up close. I know what his cutter looked like and I’m telling you, I haven’t seen a pitch move like his, with that kind of velocity, until I saw this kid Mejia.”

Slow down everyone, if you can. Pull the emergency brake. Shut off the engine if necessary. Mejia has had “great stuff” — in two Spring Training appearances.

This is the same Jenrry Mejia who sparkled the first half of 2009 with St. Lucie (A). He was 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in nine starts before being promoted to Binghamton. In 10 starts for the B-Mets, Mejia was 0-5 with an ERA of 4.47. This is the same Jenrry Mejia who scouts refer to as a “thrower,” not a pitcher.He has the consistency of a 20-year old. This is the same Jenrry Mejia who, last November during the Arizona Fall League, Jason Grey of ESPN reported Mejia’s velocity at 96 mph while “flashing both a plus change with split-like action and a plus curveball.”

Great. Inconsistent. Electric. Lights Out. And why? Jenrry Mejia is 20 years old. He is still learning how to pitch. Still, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, if Mejia continues throwing strikes and commanding his fastball, he will “force himself into consideration” for a roster spot.

More than two scoreless relief appearances, Mejia has effectively distracted the media’s attention. His headline-stealing relief appearances has redirected the media focus from the 2009 disaster, Carlos Beltran’s knee, Jose Reyes’ thyroid, Kelvim Escobar and Jay Marshall’s sore arms, the enigmatic Oliver Perez and an otherwise thin bullpen (Bobby Parnell, Fernando Nieve, Kiko Calero, R.A. Dickey, Elmer Dessens, Eddie Kunz, Nelson Figueroa).

It’s March 9. The Mets have 25 games left on their spring training schedule. Before anyone anoints Mejia the next Rivera, let’s make sure the brakes work before we place Mejia on the fast track to the Hall of Fame.