Anderson: There’s No Stopping Nola – He’s Been Unbelievable

The 2018 season has showcased a breakout year for Aaron Nola who has helped vault the Phillies to a 31-24 record heading into action Saturday night.  Nola has a 7-2 record in 12 Starts, he is Fifth in the National League in ERA (2.18), Seventh in Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (9.857) and he leads the NL in Wins Above Replacement (3.4).  Nola is making a strong case to be selected to the All-Star Game this summer and statistically he is performing like one of the best pitchers in the National league.

Phillies Radio Analyst Larry Anderson joined The Locker Room with Billy Schweim on Saturday discussing why Nola is pitching so well this season:

“There’s two things - Using his legs in his delivery; When he went down last year….he came back and he was using his legs.  You can see when he finishes, he’s finishing (throwing) to the catcher, he’s using his back, he’s using his legs, and it’s given him more velocity.  He also came up with a Changeup – He worked on it a year and a half ago, in the Winter all he did was play catch throwing Changeups, he comes to Spring Training he throws about 50 percent Changeups in his games and he got the feel of it and that’s been a huge pitch for him, especially against the (Left Handed Hitters).  Everything to me comes down to Fastball command and he has that and it makes all of his stuff better.  So between the Fastball Command, coming up with that Changeup, and using his legs, there’s no stopping him….Behind (Max) Scherzer, I don’t know who’s better than (Aaron) Nola in the National League right now, he’s been unbelievable and it’s fun to watch.”

Checkout what Anderson had to say about Jake Arrieta's value to the Phillies Pitching Staff, perspective on Rhys Hoskins, and looks back at the 1993 Phillies team