Fans Should Buy Stock In This Philadelphia Phillies Star Right-Hander

The Philadelphia Phillies have a rotation full of star players right now, and their veteran has slid under the radar because of that.

Apr 26, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

There was a lot of optimism surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies entering the year after they re-signed Aaron Nola to a lucrative deal this winter that will keep him with the club for the next seven seasons.

The right-hander has been a staple for the organization since being taken seventh overall in the 2014 MLB draft. But after the two parties were far apart on a deal entering 2023 and Nola had a down year, there was real concern that he might leave in free agency.

Instead, they were able to pair him with their ace Zack Wheeler for at least the next three seasons.

After signing the deal he did, though, there were expectations placed upon Nola to have a much better year than he had shown the season prior when he posted a 4.46 ERA and gave up his career high in hits (178), earned runs (96), and homers (32).

Alarm bells were ringing when the Atlanta Braves completely took him apart in his first start of the year, giving up six earned runs on 11 hits and two blasts across 4 1/3 innings pitched.

Since then, he has quietly been lights out and Matt Gelb of The Athletic thinks that fans should be buying stock in Nola right now.

"He's pitched into the eighth inning in each of his past three starts, which is even more impressive considering one MLB pitcher — Nathan Eovaldi — did that in all of 2023," he writes.

The one-time All-Star has used the strength of his April outings to reduce his ERA to 3.20.

Nola went 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA in his five starts. Like Gelb mentioned, he's gone into the eighth inning his past three outings, getting through eight in the last two.

It really looks like it could be a resurgent year for the Phillies' former ace and it seems like there is a reason why.

"Nola is throwing more sinkers than he has in years. He has yet to allow an extra-base hit on a sinker. He has often commanded it better than the four-seam fastball. Now, Nola has almost identical usage with his four-seamer and sinker. Maybe that's a path forward for him," Gelb notes.

That's certainly interesting.

There's no reason why the 30-year-old can't continue to evolve as a pitcher and find new things that work for him to ensure he stays in the conversation as one of the best starters in the league.

He was paid like one this offseason, and so far, he's been performing like it.