Aaron Nola emerges as the ace of the Philadelphia Phillies, cementing himself as their number one man in the rotation.
For Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola “it” has been evident from the beginning of his MLB career in 2015. “It” was that extended streak, here and there, that demonstrated the right-hander could eventually have an extraordinary pitching career.
In the middle of August last year, example, he reached a double-digit point against the Mets no Phillies pitcher had achieved since the 19th-century establishment of the current mound – 10 consecutive games of two or fewer runs surrendered. This was something no Phillies ace – not Robin Roberts, not Steve Carlton, not Cole Hamels – had done.
Overall, the numbers in Nola’s first three years with the Phillies weren’t especially mind-blowing, but he had always seemed to mix a hot streak into the season somewhere. Also, observant fans always kept relatively quiet two facts after the 2017 season, when the pitcher won his most games (12) and posted his best ERA (3.54) and WHIP (1.208).
Those facts were (1) he began his MLB career at barely 22, and (2) he somehow had compiled a winning record for his first three years on fairly dreadful teams. His 12 wins last season represented 18.2 percent of all Phillies wins in the campaign.
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When the Phillies signed Jake Arrieta during spring training, many likely assumed that he would be the staff ace, and despite starting a little late, Arrieta has pitched well (3-1, 3.15 ERA, 1.078 WHIP in two fewer appearances than Nola).
However, at the moment, Aaron Nola is the Phillies ace. The numbers are so good that, if it weren’t so early, a sensible person would say he’s a candidate for the Cy Young award.
He is in the top ten (before play May 9) in wins (2t), ERA (7t), games started (1t), and WHIP (10) for both leagues. The real numbers represented by those rankings are five, 2.05, eight, and 0.892. He is merely 16th in MLB for BA against (.197).
These figures, however, only represent half the story. Aaron Nola is a pitcher, not a thrower. While he has gotten stronger as he has moved into his middle 20s, his close observers expect him to hit 94-95 mph with his fastball only a handful of times a game.
Like Greg Maddux, Nola depends on location and his other pitches. While he’s always had an impressive 12-to-6 curve he’s used as a put-away pitch, this year his change-up has moved into that category as well.
The result is what fans saw May 8 at Citizens Bank Park when Nola pushed his win total to five to keep his team half a game out of first place. Backed by three home runs, the Phillies ace struck out a career-high 12 against the San Francisco Giants, a team that had arrived in Philadelphia fairly hot.
The 4-2 win wasn’t as close as that score suggests. Nola threw 109 pitches and gathered a stunning 26 swings and misses, the third highest total in the ten years the Phillies have tracked that figure. He threw his change-up 25 times and picked up 10 of the swings and misses with it.
In his usual understated way, Nola evaluated his pitches after the game as follows:
"“They were feeling pretty good coming out of my hand.” Asked if he felt the game had been his best career start, he deflected the notion: “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t really look at it that way. I mean, this one is done now.”"
Next: Will Burger be the same after Achilles injuries?
This is how the current Philadelphia Phillies ace talks. What matters is what’s on the field the next time. He knows he won’t be turning 25 until June 4.