Aaron Nola Will Make Major League Debut On Tuesday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Aaron Nola, the Phillies' top minor league pitching prospect, will make his major league debut on Tuesday, July 21, against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park (7:05 p.m.), the club announced on Friday.
Nola, 22, was selected by the Phillies in the first round (7th overall) of the June 2014 draft. He will become the first player drafted by Philadelphia to make his major league debut the very next season since Pat Combs, who was selected in June 1988 and made his ML debut in September 1989.
This season, Nola has combined to go 10-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 18 starts between double-A Reading (7-3, 1.88 ERA) and triple-A Lehigh Valley (3-1, 3.58). He has held opposing hitters to a .241 batting average with a 1.05 WHIP (97 H, 18 BB) and 92 strikeouts in 109.1 innings. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander was selected to participate in the 2015 MLB Futures Game, but did not pitch.
At Louisiana State University, Nola was honored as the 2014 National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation. That year, he was also named SEC Pitcher of the Year, First-Team All-American, First-Team All-SEC, and was a Golden Spikes Award Finalist.
Nola will wear No. 27.
