Aaron Nola has been the best prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization and one of the best throughout the MLB. He could be nearing his debut depending on the Phillies' trade deadline plans.
Nola is 10-3 with a 1.97 ERA and 0.967 WHIP in 16 starts between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. General manager Ruben Amaro said he was in no rush with the right-hander or any of the other talented young arms the Phillies have in their farm system, but Nola has really made a compelling case for himself.
Trade rumors err on the side of the Phillies being sellers at the deadline, which is no surprise, but Nola's debut may come if the team decides to deal a couple of their veteran starters. On top of that, the Phillies' rotation has been so bad they may have no choice but to promote Nola in the very near future - another area where rumors have emerged.
"Something has to give and that something could put Triple-A right-hander Aaron Nola in the big leagues before the end of the month," Todd Zolecki of MLB.com wrote over the weekend.
"Sean O'Sullivan pitches Monday in Los Angeles. He has pitched six-plus innings in just five of 12 starts. Chad Billingsley, who pitches Tuesday, has pitched more than five innings just once in four starts.
"[Kevin] Correia has not reached six innings in five starts."
Cole Hamels is more than likely to be traded before the July 31 deadline and Aaron Harang is on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis (in addition to being mentioned in trade rumors). As Philadelphia continues their rebuild, giving Nola some starts at the MLB level this year seems like a logical decision especially if they hope to expedite the process. If Hamels and Harang are gone by the deadline, Nola's chances of cracking the MLB roster exponentially increase.
And Zolecki isn't the only one who thinks Phillies fans will see Nola this year.
"In his first four starts with Lehigh Valley, Nola is 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA, 24 strikeouts and five walks," Jordan Hall of CSN Philly added. "Triple A hitters have challenged Nola by making him work, but the Phillies' 2014 first-round pick has answered well. Given the state of the Phillies' rotation, we could see Nola sooner rather than later - this season."
Additionally, one can only wonder what's going on in the Phillies' front office. The team named Andy MacPhail as their new president last week and he'll succeed Pat Gillick at the end of the season. However, MacPhail will join the organization as a consultant in the meantime, which may indicate philosophical changes are already underway in Philadelphia. Amaro's contract expires at the end of the season and he could be gone by then, so it's unknown how much longer the Phillies will allow him to unilaterally dictate the direction of the team.
As for Nola, there's still plenty of time left for him to get experience in Triple-A this month. A little while back we posited that the 22-year-old could make his debut in mid-to-late August, but the state of the Phillies' starting rotation may suggest otherwise.
Hamels is expected to provide a good return in a trade, but Philadelphia already has a tremendous group of pitching prospects - Nola, Ben Lively, Zach Eflin and others - lined up to form the core of the organization's future rotation, so it seems unlikely they'd look to acquire MLB-ready starters in such a deal and perhaps instead wait to sign some in the offseason.
The Phillies are a baseball enigma right now and not much can be overlooked in terms of what they're planning to do.
Nola has been plowing through the minors and he doesn't have a whole lot to prove before making his MLB debut.
