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The Phillies went what some are calling the safe route in Thursday night's draft when they selected RHP Aaron Nola out of LSU. He's done it at the college level, winning SEC pitcher of the year honors twice. Analysts believe he could be one of the quickest players to make it to the bigs from the draft. He's been described by the Phillies as having "now stuff."
That's good. Because they could use some help now.
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His bread and butter pitch is his fastball, according to scouting director Marti Wolever. He can pitch to both sides of the plate and anaylsts say his command is impeccable.
From the team's official release:
One of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to college baseball’s top player, Nola just completed his junior season at Louisiana State University. The 21-year-old went 11-1 in 16 starts with a 1.47 ERA and 134 strikeouts to only 27 walks in 116.1 total innings. The Tigers went 15-1 this season in his 16 starts.
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Nola, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, finished his career at LSU going 30-6 with a 2.09 ERA. He was honored as the Southeastern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2013 and 2014.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Nola was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft, but did not sign. He is the younger brother of Austin Nola, a shortstop in the Miami Marlins farm system.