Aaron Civale is a very specific type of pitcher. Where many other starters live off the power of one or two pitches, it’s anybody’s guess what kind of pitch — what kind of sequence — you might see from Civale at-bat to at-bat. I won’t go so far as to say he’s a garbageman, but he’s certainly more a Kyle Hendricks or latter-career Greg Maddux than Randy Johnson or even Shane Bieber.
It’s about command, control, and getting by without having an overpowering fastball. Trickery, et cetera.
Which is why it seems so odd that, thus far in 2021, Civale is throwing a career-high number of four-seam fastballs.