Saturday, August 02

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Six years ago, Paul Gervase found himself at a crossroads.

The right-hander towered above his peers at 6-foot-7, but he didn’t get any college scholarship offers. His parents paid his way to Division III Pfeiffer University, a private school in Misenheimer, N.C. Despite his size and his long limbs, Gervase was only throwing 84 mph. He pitched sparingly, and often poorly, as a freshman. Or, as he put it: “Wasn’t very good. Got shelled.”

Then his father, Tom, uncertain if his son had the work ethic to live out his dream of playing at the next level, laid down a challenge.

“Basically like, ‘Hey, man, you’re going to work your butt off this summer. I’m not paying for this anymore, because I’m not going to watch you sit on the bench and pay all this money,’” Gervase recalled. “I was like, ‘That’s fair.’”

So began a path that transformed Gervase’s arm, attitude and aptitude on the mound. It’s taken him from a DIII school to two community colleges (and two Olive Garden locations) in North Carolina, a powerhouse LSU baseball program, the Mets’ Minor League system and, after a dominant stint in Double-A, the Rays’ Major League Spring Training camp.

Before too long, maybe it’ll lead the 6-foot-10 reliever to the big leagues.

“It’s all very surreal,” Tom said in a phone interview.

In his social media bios, Gervase describes himself as a “Former D3 walk-on,” although he noted that “sounds way cooler than it is,” because there actually aren’t scholarships for Division III athletes. But his dad’s financial commitment to Pfeiffer didn’t make much sense if Gervase was going to struggle to see the mound or find the strike zone.

“I didn’t have any mechanics. I didn’t throw consistently. I was lazy,” Gervase said. “I didn’t work out. Just a combination of a lot of things.”

So he accepted his father’s challenge. He ran up a hill in their North Carolina neighborhood 10 times every morning and 10 times every night. He trained with physical therapist/biomechanics expert Brandon Young and instructor Chris Patton, splitting the cost with his dad. He learned how to use his body in his delivery. In one summer, his fastball velocity increased by 8-10 mph.

“He dedicated himself to getting better,” Tom said.

“I actually put something into it,” Gervase added. “I was like, ‘Whoa! This is fun. I like being good. It’s way more fun than not pitching good.’”

He grew an inch each of his first three years in college and kept adding velocity. After leaving Pfeiffer, he spent the 2020 season at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, N.C., then transferred to Pitt Community College for the '21 season.

To pay his own way, Gervase got a job as a server at Olive Garden. When he transferred schools, he moved from one restaurant to another, taking free breadsticks to his tables everywhere he went.

“Nobody does that, but that makes everybody happy,” he said, grinning. “I would get better tips.”

While at Pitt CC, coach Tommy Eason issued Gervase another trajectory-altering mandate: “Dude, you’re 6-10 and you throw 95 mph. Throw with some conviction.” That helped him find the strike zone and more success, which raised his profile as he considered his fourth school in four years.

Gervase said he emailed 200 schools and only 16 responded. One of them was Louisiana State, which has a proud baseball program that churns out big leaguers. When LSU offered him a spot and a scholarship, Gervase accepted right away.

On the field, he emerged as LSU’s primary closer. And in a clubhouse full of top-tier talent, his journey and humility stood out.

“It was so cool seeing him in the locker room and hearing his story. Just where he came from was insane,” said Rays prospect Tre' Morgan (MLB Pipeline's No. 94 overall prospect), one of Gervase's LSU teammates. “Once he got into the LSU locker room, he could have felt like he got there. But that’s not his mindset. That’s never been his mindset.”

Gervase did enough for the Mets to take him in the 12th round of the 2022 Draft, and he used his $170,000 signing bonus to pay off his student loans.

Gervase still struggled to throw a breaking ball, though, and professional hitters made him pay. He learned a slider that he could land in the strike zone during his second season, and, as he said, “started punching out the world.” It’s only a slight exaggeration; he struck out 38.6 percent of the hitters he faced in 2023, although he also walked 16.9 percent of them, between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton in the Mets' system.

Beginning last year in Double-A, Gervase picked up a cutter that helped with his command. Then came a surprising visit on July 30 from his manager in Binghamton, former Rays infielder Reid Brignac. He’d been dealt to the Rays for Tyler Zuber, a 5-foot-11 reliever Tampa Bay had signed out of independent ball two months earlier.

“And he said, ‘Everyone says if you get traded to the Rays, that means it’s a good thing.’ I was like, ‘Sounds good,’” Gervase said. “Then I came down here and played for the best Double-A team I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Gervase found a familiar roommate in Morgan and a home in the bullpen for a loaded Montgomery squad featuring many of Tampa Bay's top prospects. He then put together the best stretch of his career by following some simple advice the Rays have issued other tall pitchers with prior control concerns.

“They were just like, ‘We’re going to put the catcher in the middle of the plate. Do what you do,’” Gervase said. “That was pretty much it. I just tried to execute my plan.”

His strikeout rate ticked up to 44.9 percent (31 in 17 2/3 innings) and his walks went way down to 4.3 percent (only three to 69 batters) with Montgomery. He only gave up 11 hits and seven runs. With a low release point, elite extension and an upper-90s fastball, he was an imposing presence for opposing hitters.

“He’s electric. I mean, he’s 6-10 or whatever and he kind of throws from his shoulder. He’s jumping at you,” said Rays catcher Dominic Keegan (Tampa Bay's 2024 No. 13 prospect). “Just filling up the strike zone, throwing strikes. Super reliable arm out of the 'pen for us. He’s got some good stuff.”

And a good story.

“Look where he is now,” Morgan said, smiling.

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