The Philadelphia Phillies have been well represented during the World Baseball Classic, and one of the bigger storylines for the team has been the strong performance of veteran pitcher Aaron Nola.
Nola took the mound during the tournament and delivered an outing that caught the attention of many around baseball, including several of his Phillies teammates. The right-hander showed improved velocity and his elite command, two signs that have his teammates encouraged as the regular season approaches.
Nola threw five scoreless innings for Team Italy against Team Mexico.
Among those impressed was Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, who watched part of Nola’s start and noticed the difference in his stuff compared to earlier points in recent seasons. Nola had a career bad year with a 6.01 ERA in 2025.
“Vintage Nols,” Turner said Thursday in Clearwater, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “He looked really good. I watched the first half of that game and he looked sharp. Velo's up.”
For Turner, the increase in Nola’s fastball velocity was noticeable. According to the Phillies star, even a small jump in speed can change how difficult a pitcher is to face, which most hitters would say,
“Last year, early on, he was like 88, 90,” Turner said. “He's already up to 94, 95. I think that's huge for him. When I've faced him throwing an extra three, four miles an hour, it makes him a lot tougher to hit.”
Known for his ability to locate his fastball and pair it with elite breaking stuff, the veteran pitcher showed both traits during his World Baseball Classic outing, something he didn’t do last year.
After the game, Nola explained that he felt comfortable attacking hitters early in counts, which helped him establish what he wanted on the mound.
“I got ahead pretty well,” Nola told reporters after the game. “The fastball had a little jump to it early on and the command was there.”
“I would set up my curveball — it felt pretty sharp, got some guys out in front and swinging over it.”
For the Phillies, seeing Nola perform at that level during the World Baseball Classic is an encouraging sign heading into the upcoming MLB season. If the right-hander can maintain that increased velocity and command, he should once again be a key piece in Philadelphia’s starting rotation.