3 former NY Mets prospects about to have a breakout season in the majors

2) Paul Gervase

Consider this a more “out on a limb” type of prediction. Paul Gervase wasn’t nearly as highly regarded in the Mets system as Crow-Armstrong. A reliever throughout his professional career, it’s easy to scratch your head and wonder who this guy even is.

Gervase never hosted an awards show or worked to create a British sitcom. What he did do was pitch to an exceptionally good 2.05 ERA in 2023 and followed it up with a 3.38 ERA performance last year split between his time with the Mets and Rays in Double-A.

Swapped at the trade deadline for Tyler Zuber, Gervase’s longtime weakness with the Mets was a lack of control. Huge strikeout numbers totaling 15 per 9 in his minor league career came at the cost of control. At the time of last year’s trade, he was walking batters at a rate of 5.5 per 9, which was an improvement from where he had been in the past. Someone must’ve gotten in his ear in Montgomery because he only walked 3 batters for a rate of 1.5 per 9 while there. Amazingly, it didn’t come at the cost of strikeouts as those even went up to 15.8 per 9 versus the already dazzling 15 per 9 they were with Binghamton.

Gervase has yet to pitch above Double-A, but with those results from last year and a locked in spot to try his hand in Triple-A, he should be among several relievers to get innings for Tampa Bay. Something about that organization seems to get the most out of pitchers. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Gervase finishing the year strong as a successful big league reliever.