Paul Gervase, Photo by Matt Kipp

Minor League Baseball started announcing their after-season All-Star teams for each league earlier this week, and the Mets farm system got its first All-Star when reliever Paul Gervase was acknowledged in the South Atlantic League. Gervase was one of two relievers chosen for the team.

The 23-year-old Garvase posted a 1.72 ERA and struck out 76 batters in 47 innings for the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones of the SAL before his promotion to Double-A. His 1.72 ERA ranked second in the league, behind only teammate Tyler Stuart and the .144 average he held opponents to ranked second as well. The 12th round pick from last year was versatile for Brooklyn, picking up six saves and also recording at least four outs in 16 of his 31 appearances.

Gervase continued his strong season in Double-A Binghamton after a late-season promotion. The tall 6’10” righty faced 40 batters in the Eastern League and struck out a ridiculous 20 of them. He only walked four in that time, a significant improvement from the 38 he walked in 47 High-A innings.

The right-hander features a fastball that is mostly 92-95 mph with arm-side run, a sweeping slider that he uses a ton against right-handed hitters, and a split-change that he will occasionally use against left-handed hitters.

Gervase’s overall strikeout rate of 38.6% this year ranked tied for 12th among 1,821 minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. He could be the go-t0 option out of the bullpen for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Thursday night as they take on the Somerset Patriots in the Division Series with a chance to clinch with a win.