The Cy Young Campaign For Aaron Nola Is Absolutely A Thing Now

By: Mike Chisdock

I was at Aaron Nola’s major league debut in July of 2015 against the Rays. Like any Phillies ace before him, run support would be hard to find. He lost the game 1-0 by giving up a homerun to the opposing pitcher, some guy whose name I can’t even remember, but I do remember leaving that game thinking Nola could be the real deal. Fast forward to 2018, not only has Nola proven that he is an ace but it is time to start seriously considering him as a legitimate Cy Young candidate. Aaron’s numbers this season so far are: 10-2, 2.48 ERA, 4.6 WAR and a 1.01 WHIP in 109 innings pitched this year. I don’t know about you, but to me that doesn’t only look like an All-star’s statistics it looks like a possible Cy Young winner. The biggest obstacle stopping Aaron from being our first CY Young winner since Doc Halladay in 2010 is a familiar face, Max Scherzer, the winner of the past two Cy Young awards in the NL. I’m sick of it. It is the dawn of a new era with Nola as the new best arm in the East.

Possibly the best thing going for Nola is how utterly dominate he has been in South Philly this year. While at Citizens Bank Park, Aaron is posting a ridiculous 7-0 with a 1.77 ERA in 8 starts with the one no decision start, still giving us a win. Keeping up this dominance at home, while slightly improving away from Philly can make the writers across the country really notice him. Even his “bad starts” are still starts we haven’t seen often from our Phillies starting pitchers over the past 5 seasons. Take his start last Saturday in Washington D.C., he went 6 innings and gave up 2 earned runs while clearly not having his best stuff. If that is the type of game we can expect from him while not having good command, we truly have an Ace on our staff. The true test of an ace in baseball is his demeanor and composure during a long season with a bunch of ups and downs. Remember watching Doc or Cliff Lee in their primes? They never let a tough loss or a huge win change their mentality, the stayed calm and collected throughout their years here. Watch Aaron’s interviews after every game he started this year, he never sounds overly excited or upset, he just defers the credit and talks about how well the team preformed and that is why they won. He is a true leader with how he carries himself everyday at the ballpark and helps show the even younger pitchers like Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta how to handle themselves.

Let’s just say the Nola finishes the year at 19-3 with a 2.40 ERA, a 4.9 WAR and a 1.03 WHIP in 26 starts while staying lights out at home. At the very least that seems like a pitcher who will be receiving a lot of votes for the Cy Young even with Max Scherzer staying red hot. Even if Aaron does not win the Cy Young this year he will be close and he should absolutely be an All-star this season. Regardless what happens with the awards voting this season, it is time everyone around baseball starts to acknowledge the fact that Aaron Nola is going to be one of the faces of this league. And for a franchise that hasn’t had an ace since Cole Hamels was traded, it feels good to know that every fifth day, three runs can get us a win.