2 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola has been a workhorse throughout his major league career and should be expected to continue this trend in 2025. Last summer, the right-hander logged at least 30 starts for the fourth-straight campaign and sixth-straight excluding the 2020 shortened season. Across his 199 1/3 innings, Nola posted a 3.57 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. This was a nice improvement compared to the 4.46 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP he held in 2023. However, he generated a near-identical 3.71 and 3.72 xERA in each campaign, respectively. He also posted a 38.5% and 38.2% hard-hit rate in each season, which is a testament to his consistent production. However, Nola has seen his strikeout production drop in each consecutive season since 2020. Last summer, he struck out batters at a mere 24.0% rate, placing him in the 58th percentile among qualified hitters. This was his lowest mark since his rookie season in 2015. During 2021 and 2022, Nola held a strikeout rate of 29% and saw this drop to 25% in 2023. While his low risk for injury makes him a great starting pitcher to target at his 83.97 ADP on the NFBC, especially if you draft younger starting pitchers with more perceived risk early on. However, Nola has some risks as his strikeout may continue to drop as he enters his age 31 season which could lower his overall ceiling.--Andy Smith - RotoBaller