No. 2: Aaron Nola, 3.9 fWAR
Aaron Nola comes in at No. 2 after a tumultuous season in which the Phillies were never quite sure which version of Nola would take the mound from start to start. He finished strong with a stellar postseason performance, but we're focusing on his regular season today.
Nola was, at the very least, dependable. The right-hander took the ball every turn through the rotation, making 32 regular season starts, which helped him accumulate his 3.9 WAR. He usually ended up going deep-ish into his starts, even the ones in which he wasn't his sharpest.
He completed at least six innings in 22 of his outings, and recorded quality starts in 15 of those games. On the flip side, he surrendered four or more runs in the other seven starts, and had 15 total starts in which he got hit for four or more earned runs.
The former first-round pick finished the year 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP while striking out 202 in 193 2/3 innings. His biggest problem was the long ball, which hurt him quite a bit; he gave up a career-high 32 home runs.
While Nola had eight games with eight or more strikeouts, including three double-digit strikeout efforts, he could never seem to string together more than two or three reliable outings in a row. He got hot at the right time, however, finishing the season with a pair of six-plus inning, eight-strikeout efforts to head into the playoffs on a roll.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Nola will be back in a Phillies uniform next season.