The Phillies will promote right-hander Aaron Nola to start against the Rays next Tuesday, July 21, in Philadelphia, according to a team release. Nola, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 draft, is considered the Phillies’ top pitching prospect and one of the 50 best prospects in all of baseball.
On their recent midseason top prospect lists, Baseball America and Keith Law of ESPN ranked Nola 12th and 38th, respectively. The former Louisiana State hurler has excelled in the minors every step of the way, totaling a 2.57 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 in 164 2/3 professional innings. BA calls him a “very safe” big-league-ready starting pitcher, and Law praises Nola’s “uncanny” fastball command. Most scouting reports peg the 6’1″, 195-pound Nola as an excellent bet to hold down a spot in the middle of the Phillies’ rotation for years to come, likely as a No. 3 type starter.
Assuming Nola is called up on Tuesday (not sooner) and is not sent back down to Triple-A, he’ll accumulate 76 days of big league service in 2015, which will leave him well shy of Super Two designation and make him controllable through the 2021 season.
Phillies fans have been waiting for months to see Nola pitching for a big league club that has had little in the way to cheer for. Philadelphia is widely expected to clean house over the coming two weeks, trading the likes of Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Ben Revere and likely a few other veterans as it continues a lengthy rebuilding process that began with offseason trades of Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd and Antonio Bastardo. Those trades netted pitchers Ben Lively, Zach Eflin and Tom Windle, but Nola is considered a significantly superior prospect to each of that grouping.
Nola has spoken with MLBTR’s Zach Links on a pair of occasions — once heading into the draft and once in Spring Training this season as he looked ahead to his first full year of pro ball.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Does this mean a Hamels trade is close?…….
Maybe, but the dreck that’s been getting run out there is getting really old. Time to change the fans perspectives and put some butts in the seats.
I have a suspicion Cole is a Phillie come August 1………
not necessarily; a big tv contract is set to kick in and the ratings are terrible due to this awful team. so, something to give the fans a reason to tune in.
Does it make any sense to start Nola service time on a losing season?
Service time shouldn’t factor in when your team is a large market team with a large payroll.
I agree. Not to mention it gives the phans something to look forward to for the rest of this crappy season. Especially if they finally do trade Cole.
“Nola, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 draft, is considered the Phillies top prospect…”
That should probably say top pitching prospect. JP Crawford is their best prospect and I don’t think that’s even debatable.
Quite true. Oversight on my part. Thanks.
McCullers would look great with Nola in the Philly rotation for years to come.
I posted a daily dish fan post which included the same thing! I love McCullers.
This makes me estatic!!
This is easily the highlight of a Phillies season. This is the first game since opening day I’m actually excited to watch from the Phillies.
Oh, mark off ANOTHER top 15 prospect in MLB making his debut this year. (#12 on BA midseason list)