While the Philadelphia Phillies currently sit with a winning record, there have been some glaring issues with the current roster that have been cause for concern.
The offense's inability to hit with runners in scoring position has been one thorn in the side of the club, the inconsistency of the bullpen has been another.
The starting rotation, on the whole, has been good. However, Aaron Nola has struggled to find his groove to begin the new campaign. Two of the biggest components to pitching in today's game have plagued the 31-year-old starter.
Aaron Nola's early struggles can be attributed to obvious problems with command
The most obvious and glaring issue for Nola to begin the season is his lack of command. Over the course of his 10-year career, the right-hander has sported a 2.36 BB/9 rate. Through four starts in 2025, Nola's walk rate currently sits at 3.74 BB/9.
Nola has walked nine batters in 21 2/3 innings. To put that in perspective, he walked 50 total batters in 199 1/3 innings in 2024. If he doesn't find his command, he's on pace to walk around 80 batters in 2025.
Nola knows that he has to command the zone better. After his most recent outing on Wednesday, the right-hander spoke about his frustrating lack of control, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
“I mean, it’s unacceptable," Nola said, per Zolecki. "Three times in my career I’ve done that, and two times in the past two games. I’ve just got to get ahead better. Too many free passes, and usually those runners have been scoring. I’m just making it harder on myself in those situations. Eight walks in two games overall. That’s not good. I’ll clean it up.”
The season is still young, and it is likely that Nola's command will improve and trend back toward the mean. Another issue, however, may not be as quick a fix.
Another drop in velocity highlights Nola's early struggles
Nola's velocity has dropped off a bit in each of the past two seasons. In 2023, his four-seamer averaged 92.7 mph. Last season it was down to 92.5 mph and to begin this season, the fastball is averaging 91.2 mph. His sinker and cutter have also experienced a dip in velocity.
Zolecki indicated that perhaps the weather has something to do with the drop in speed. He pointed out that Nola's fastballs have averaged 90.7 mph through his most recent start and that last season they averaged 90.9 mph before gaining velocity as the temperature rose in the summer months.
The Phillies' starter has never been a blow-it-by-you type pitcher though. The highest average velocity on his four-seam fastball was in 2019 when the pitch averaged 93.1 mph.
Because velocity is not the name of Nola's game, it would seem that he could still be an effective pitcher even with a drop in pitch speed.
The command is the bigger issue. Nola cannot continue to surrender free passes and put runners on base. He addressed his struggles out of the stretch in his postgame comments on Wednesday.
“Usually it’s been in the stretch,” Nola said, trying to identify his struggles, per Zolecki. “The windup feels pretty good. I feel like I’m getting ahead a decent amount of time in the windup. I think in the stretch I’m getting 1-0 a lot.”
Nola, who signed a seven-year contract prior to the 2024 season, will be a Phillies starter for a long time. He has been a workhorse for the organization and has the ability to age well in the game. Relying on command rather than velocity, has been a recipe for success for other Major League pitchers (ex. Jamie Moyer).
If Nola can hone his command, he can still be an effective pitcher in this Phillies' rotation. It would not be surprising to see him turn his season around as the weather heats up and he and Phillies pitching coaches figure out why his pitches aren't landing where he wants.