Pitcher Paul Gervase

Staff report

A movie may be made about Paul Gervase’s life some day.

A 6-foot-10 right-handed pitcher, he’s had an unusual rise from suspect to prospect. He debuted in the major leagues on Saturday as part of Tampa Bay’s bullpen. His circuitous journey to the big leagues included a stop at Pfeiffer University.

As a high school player at Harnett Central in eastern North Carolina, Gervase stood 6-foot-7, threw 84 mph and impressed scouts so little he wasn’t recruited despite his size and potential.

Gervase was a walk-on at Pfeiffer during the 2019 season, with his family footing the bill for him to continue his career and education. He had grown to 6-foot-8 and weighed 195 pounds. At Pfeiffer, he wore jersey No. 66 and pitched in nine games for the Falcons. He started three. He was 0-0 with a 4.19 ERA. He accumulated 17 strikeouts, 15 walks and seven HBPs in 19.1 innings.

His father informed him he wasn’t paying for another year of such limited action, let Paul know that he had to get better or baseball was over and it was time to get a job. Gervase accepted the challenge, his work ethic improved, his training habits improved, his velocity improved and his control improved.

Stops followed the next two years, the COVID years, at Wake Tech and Pitt Community College, with Gervase continuing to progress and harness his gifts.

By the 2022 season, he was a fearsome 6-foot-10, 230-pound closer for LSU, throwing 94s in the SEC and posting a 4-1 record with six saves. He pitched in front of numerous scouts after the college season in the Cape Cod Baseball League and was a 12th-round draft pick by the New York Mets.

He signed for $170,000 — and was able to pay off his student loans.

He held his own for Mets farm teams in 2022 and 2023, advanced through three levels in the farm system and was traded to the Rays in 2024.

Gervase had been pitching competently for Triple-A Durham this season with two wins and two saves, along with 50 strikeouts and 10 walks in 33 innings. That led to the call to the big leagues from Tampa Bay.

Now 25, Gervase pitched two scoreless innings against Detroit on Sunday.