You probably didn¡¯t know Kenny Serwa¡¯s name before this week. Perhaps you still don¡¯t. But you should, because his pitches have gone viral, and one Major League club has taken notice.

The 27-year-old Serwa turned into a bit of a celebrity in baseball circles this week when video of him throwing 88 mph knuckleballs landed on social media. Serwa¡¯s bullpen session at Tread Athletics in North Carolina quickly caught the eyes of many, including the Tigers. On Friday, Tread Athletics announced that Serwa had signed a contract with Detroit.

The right-hander actually has two knuckleballs. His second one, which he calls the ¡°Yoshi,¡± is about 5-10 mph slower than his marquee pitch. By the way, only three knuckleballs have reached 84 mph in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), and they were all thrown by Padres right-hander Matt Waldron from 2023-24.

Serwa complements those offerings with a mid-90s four-seamer, a low-90s sinker and a mid-80s curveball.

In Serwa¡¯s final two collegiate seasons -- 2021 with the University of Central Florida and '22 at Dayton -- he produced an ERA over 5.00 each year. He wasn¡¯t throwing knuckleballs back then. He has spent two seasons in independent ball, and he recorded a 4.22 ERA and 103 strikeouts over 119 1/3 innings last year with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association.

Those kinds of numbers don¡¯t usually attract big league clubs. But with some radical pitch mix changes, some public bullpen sessions and a video camera, Serwa has earned a shot to reach The Show.