Cleveland Indians: Position Preview for 2021, Starting Pitching

Aaron Civale

While the 2021 season will be the third in the career of Aaron Civale, it in many ways will be his first true major league season. Civale debuted during the 2019 season and appeared in 10 games before pitching in 12 during the 2020 season. He hasn’t had to endure the length of a full season yet and that will be the biggest test for him in the upcoming year.

While Civale hasn’t gone a full MLB season yet, he does have enough to be a bright light in what could be a dismal season in Cleveland. The question will be figuring out where he lands among his past seasons. His 2019 outing saw an ERA of 2.34 whereas his 2020 season saw that number jump to 4.74. He also allowed the most hits in the American League last season, giving up 82 over 74 innings pitched.

The potential for Civale is definitely there and having pitched just 22 games at the major league level, we can assume there’s plenty of room for growth for him. Turning 26-years old in June, Civale has a long career ahead of him, so if it takes a bit for him to settle in, that isn’t abnormal. If there’s anytime for these pitchers to experiment and find themselves on the mound, this year might be it while the Tribe prepare to reload with youth over the next couple seasons.