Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
One year ago, Aaron Nola was dominating SEC hitters while pitching for LSU and MLB scouts thought his domination in one of the best three conferences in college baseball meant a fast rise through the minors.
Little did they know how fast. Nola’s rise could be more evidence in a long-running debate over where the highest levels of college baseball rate versus levels of the minor leagues. Even the most ardent supporters of college baseball grudgingly concede Triple-A baseball—with a mix of former MLB players and top prospects—is a higher level than any version of college ball, but there had been some disagreement over whether the top conferences were closer to high Single-A or Double-A.
Nola had similar numbers against both SEC hitters a year ago and Double-A hitters this season. On Wednesday, pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies’ Double-A affiliate in Reading (Pa.), Nola dominated again. He pitched seven shutout innings and dropped his ERA to 1.51. In eight starts, he is now 6-2 with 39 strikeouts and six walks. He’s held opponents to a batting average of .203. Take away his only rocky start—his first one—and his ERA is 0.94.
Compare that to a year ago pitching for the LSU Tigers, he was 10-1 with a 1.27 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 109 innings in a regular season where the opponents hit .211 against him. His numbers in both SEC and Double-A ball are so strikingly similar that one could make a compelling case that the hitters are about the same on both levels.
Nola is the most advanced of a solid Double-A starting staff with Reading that includes offseason acquisitions Zach Eflin, Tom Windle and Ben Lively—guys who have won minor league pitcher of the year awards with their past organizations, the Los Angeles Dodgers in Eflin and Windle’s cases, and the Cincinnati Reds with Lively.
A lot of what Nola has done and is doing reflects very well on how much he learned at LSU, not only in the classroom but on the field. That bodes well for the future of college baseball as another viable MLB farm system option.
Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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Phillies Should Target LSU Pitcher Aaron Nola in June MLB Draft
