The Philadelphia Phillies have every intention of repeating as division champions this year and to chase that elusive World Series title. The first few weeks of the regular season showed promise, but did exploit some weaknesses the Phillies need to iron out one way or another.
It's too early to hold doubt them correcting their mistakes, but regressing trends are never a storyline you want haunting a season filled with hope and optimism. Phillies' left-hander Cristopher Sánchez has taken off after a 2024 All-Star season and looks like a star in the making, but that has seemed to come at the expense of the longest-tenured Phillie, Aaron Nola.
Cristopher Sánchez’s emergence has just replaced Aaron Nola’s production
Sánchez earned his first All-Star nod last season putting up a 11-9 record, including a 3.32 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 181 2/3 innings pitched. The Phillies know they have something special in Sánchez and didn't waste that opportunity when they re-signed him to a four-year extension last summer.
Sánchez coming into 2025 had a chance to be even better and increased velocity with some mechanical adjustments, had Phillies' fans excited for what was to come. Thursday encapsulated what fans were hoping for as he struck out a career-high 12 batters in seven innings pitched, earning his second win of 2025. His season numbers now have him at a 2-0 record, 2.96 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings pitched. According to FanGraphs, his current pace of 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings would mark the highest of his career, well surpassing last season's rate of 7.58. With all the hype surrounding Sánchez, it unfortunately has left Nola dragging behind.
Nola has had the opposite of fortune to start off 2025. After another rough outing on Wednesday in which he allowed nine hits, four walks, 11 earned runs on two home runs in just 5 1/3 innings, he fell to an 0-4 record with a glaring 6.65 ERA in only four starts, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. His 9.2 percent barrel rate marks the highest in his 11 MLB seasons.
Another concern is that even after 11 years with the Phillies, it is still very unpredictable what to expect from Nola. The last five plus seasons have featured seasons in which Nola has alternated between a mid-3.00 and mid-4.00 ERA. It doesn't help either that he appears to have dropped velocity off his fastball. If 2025 continues anywhere near his current pace, that trend would continue.
Some hope for Nola would be his 4.02 xERA and that it could be just some bad luck he's running into. The Phillies' starting staff is dominant when it's on, so Nola's NL-leading 16 earned runs takes a little wind out of the sails of what Sánchez is accomplishing. The staff, lead by two-time Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler and the addition of Jesús Luzardo makes for an all-time starting rotation. If Nola can somehow turn it around, this rotation could go down as one of the best to ever do it.