Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola will be a story to monitor throughout the 2026 season. He was just flat-out bad in 2025 after posting a 6.01 ERA across 17 starts and also navigated injury for a large chunk of the summer. Nola is looking for a much-needed turnaround, and his spring debut was very encouraging as the first taste of 2026.
Nola had his first spring training action on Friday against the Miami Marlins, and it was a bright sign for a possible bounce-back season for the veteran. He went two innings, gave up two hits and one earned run, but did strike out two batters and the Phillies walked away with the 10-2 win.
Of his 31 pitches thrown, Nola registered six whiffs, a 40 percent rate, and a 33 percent chase rate. He also registered first-pitch strikes to seven of the eight batters he faced. This could be the beginning of the rebound Phillies fans hope they get from Nola in 2026.
Aaron Nola's first start of spring training sparks optimism for successful 2026 season
Nothing seemed to go right for Nola during the 2025 season. His 6.01 ERA was by far the worst single season he had in his career. He was also on pace to give up the most home runs for a single season in his career before he got injured. He allowed 18 in 17 games but could have surpassed 32. His two innings on Friday showed he could turn over a new leaf.
Nola's two most used pitches are his four-seam fastball and his knuckle curve. Both pitch velocities on Friday were down from his 2025 season. According to Statcast, he averaged 91.7 mph on his fastball, just 0.2 mph down from last year's average. His knuckle curve was down 0.3 from 2025. He averaged 77.9 mph on Friday. He was still very effective with both. His other three pitches, however, averaged a 0.5 mph velocity increase or better.
There was also slightly more movement to his cutter. He only threw five of them total but did get a whiff on one of the two swings. The overall improved velocity is something to keep an eye on as he ramps up over the coming weeks.
Nola will again be a critical part of the Phillies rotation for 2026. The club's ace, Zack Wheeler, will be sidelined for at least some of the first month of the regular season after recovering from surgery. The Phillies also lost Ranger Suárez in free agency, so they will need to rely on Cristopher Sánchez to fill those shoes for the moment, followed by Jesús Luzardo, Nola, Taijuan Walker, and rookie Andrew Painter.
If Nola can get back to the 2024 version of himself when he put up a 3.57 ERA and finished 11th in the NL Cy Young, the Phillies will be in great shape by the time Wheeler returns. Even with the stumble in 2025, the Phillies’ starting rotation still posted a 3.53 ERA, the second best in MLB, according to FanGraphs.
It may take a little more than one spring start for Nola to shake off the cobwebs of his rough 2025 season, but Friday was encouraging and a reason to be hopeful. The Phillies need Nola to maintain an elite starting rotation. If he can rebound, the they’ll be in much better shape.