On a dusty backfield in Surprise, Ariz., the only noise is the hum of insects and the thwack of a baseball hitting a glove. Dust spirals in the distance as the oppressive sun beats down on a young boy and his uncle, their shadows growing long.

There’s no talk of launch angles and spin rates here, only sunflower seeds and chatter. The smell of fresh grass. A coach and his student.

Just grab that ball, stick the grip, and rip the pitch. Repeat. Repeat.

It was during one of these afternoon-long sessions with his uncle that soon-to-be Giants reliever Gil Selachi discovered his no-seam fastball.

“My teammates all make fun of me because the grip looks funny, but this really helps me rip through the ball and get that ride,” Selachi said later in the Giants clubhouse, bright-eyed and ready for his first major-league action. “My uncle likes to say I should throw this right up their ass.”

The no-seam fastball with a funky grip. (Eno Sarris)

It might just be a quirk of the schedule: The team needs a reliever more than a starter in the short term, and the Giants will probably use Selachi sparingly in the next series against Arizona. And sure, maybe he’s headed back down again shortly thereafter. Selachi will try to take advantage of the opportunity to make an impression while he’s up.

The ink is barely dry on his contract, but this pitcher thrives when he’s at his wettest.

“I call this one The Sweater,” laughs Selachi. “A lot of sweat, some leave-in conditioner, no seams, and throw it like a breaking ball. Never know where this one is going.”

The Sweater, minus the conditioner. (Eno Sarris)

Spin is the thing right now, but that’s not Selachi’s game. He admitted that his no-seam approach won’t make him the king of spin rate, but the good news is, he has an old school metric in his favor.

He throws pretty hard.

Selachi added four ticks to his 93-mph fastball over the winter, and — of course — he credited an unconventional diet for the extra muscle mass that helps him hit triple digits on the radar gun with ease.

“Two raw chicken breasts, peanut butter, milk, and a little Nutella in the blender every morning,” he said. “And yeah, I know about salmonella, but my uncle runs a chicken farm. I get them straight from the source, and there’s more nutrients that way.”

The last piece of the puzzle is, naturally, the changeup. Like so many in the minors, he’s been working on his third pitch, and it improves in fits and starts. After all the bluster and blast of his high-velocity fastball and unpredictable breaking ball, Selachi wants more of a nice easy feeling on the changeup.

The peace-loving changeup. (Eno Sarris)

“This grip also looks pretty funny, but it gives me a great way to command the change and also take a ton of velo off,” said Selachi.

Can the hitters see the peace sign?

“I don’t think so, I have this long hair and I try to hide the ball and whip my hair around at the same time… there’s a lot going on in my delivery,” Selachi told The Athletic.

So how did so many of us miss his meteoric rise through the minors and up the Giants’ organizational depth charts?

Selachi shrugs.

“Short righty with average velo, throwing out of the pen?” he submitted. “Nobody really cares about funky grips until you can throw some heat.”

Not true, Gil.

We care.

America, like baseball, loves the underdog, the rising star who overcomes all odds to achieve. Maybe Gil Selachi will be that underdog — thanks to a strange grip on life and his uncle Sidd.

Only time will tell.

(Top photo: Jennifer Stewart / Getty Images)