3 Phillies who will make-or-break another World Series run

Phillies who will make-or-break another World Series run: Aaron Nola

A full season of 32 starts looks like vintage Aaron Nola at first glance. So does the 12 wins and the 200+ strikeouts that he posted for the fifth straight year (the COVID-shortened 2020 season doesn't count). But his ERA? 4.46. His FIP? 4.03. His ERA+? 96. Maybe things didn't go so well for Nola.

Unfortunately, the 30-year-old was not able to get it done on a consistent basis for the Phillies this season. All of a sudden, his walks were way up after leading the National League in BB/9 last year, his home runs skyrocketed all the way up to 1.5 HR/9, a career worst for him. His H/9 sits at 8.3 as well, which is the highest he's had since all the way back in 2017. Through and through, the pending free agent just did not look like himself this year, and the contract he signs in free agency in a few months may be reflective of that.

Perhaps people were too quick to hand Nola the "ace" label, but his numbers suggest that he was right around ace level, especially over the course of the past two seasons. Instead, he regressed in a big way this year and is now falling into the category of "good when he's on but unwatchable when he's off."

In his postseason career, the right-hander has made a total of five starts, with the first two going well and the next three ... not so much. Last year, he pitched a combined 12.2 shutout innings (an unearned run scored in one of the outings) in starts against the Cardinals and Braves, striking out 12 total batters and walking three. Then, he surrendered six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, in his NLCS start against the Padres. After that, he made two World Series starts against Houston and melted down even more, surrendering eight earned runs on 13 hits with two more home runs.

Over the course of this season, Nola has either been a pitcher capable of striking out batters in the double-digits or one that allows five or more earned runs in a single outing. It seems there's never been room for anything in between. Getting him in line alongside fellow stud starters Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker is of the utmost importance for the Phillies.