Aaron Nola has made two rehab appearances for Lehigh Valley in the last week. Nola was originally sidelined with an ankle injury in May before being moved to the 60 day IL for a rib injury in June.
Before his injury diagnosis, Nola was having a rough start to the year. In 9 starts the Phillies righty was 1-7 with a 6.61 ERA. Yeah not great. Nola has been a key player for the Phillies since 2015. His poor start to the season was unexpected. The move to the injured list provided clarity on the shaky start. Since Nola has been out the Phillies pitching has held it down. The Phillies boast the best starting staff in all of baseball. However arms will tire as the innings pile up and adding Nola back to this roster will provide the Phillies a fresh arm.
Rehab Assignments
Recently, Nola has begun his rehab starts with Lehigh Valley. He pitched in his first rehab assignment on August 1st. Nola was solid for the Iron Pigs tossing 3 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk, and added 3 Ks.
Nola was on the bump for his second start with the Iron Pigs on Wednesday. He did allow one run but went 3 ⅔ innings with 3 Ks and 2 walks.
Nola was solid in both starts in Lehigh Valley. It can be hard to judge rehab starts because the outcome of the start is not always an indicator of how the player pitched. The goal of a certain start could be to find the feel for a certain pitch or focus on velocity vs. accuracy. How Nola pitches during his rehab assignments won’t predict how he will pitch back on the Phillies. But his performances in both starts are a sign Nola is looking. more like his old self.
Nola is Needed
First and foremost he will be coming back healthy, unlike his start the season. Both Suarez and Wheeler have hit lulls in the month of August. There is zero reason for concern over Wheeler, but I am a touch worried about Ranger. Last season Ranger also struggled in the second half of the year. He has not been quite as sharp since the all-star break and with the struggles of Wheeler and Suarez, Nola will provide a boost. On top of that the inconsistency of Luzardo will make Nola a nice re-addition to have another arm in the rotation.
How Good Will He Be?
It’s tough to judge what the expectations for Nola should be. He better be pitching better than he did to start the season. He has been a high level starter for us for a long time. He has been fantastic in the playoffs the last 3 years. It would be unfair to expect Nola to reach his past levels of dominance, but I still expect him to come in and be a key piece for this rotation. If he can get back into the form of old, look out for the Phillies pitching to run the table in October.
Photo Credit: Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer
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