2/6/14

Draft 14 - A Quick Look - RHP - Aaron Nola - LSU



 Aaron Nola

5-28-13 - Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU  - One of the best control artists in college, Nola also has power behind his pitches. As a freshman, he had 87 strikeouts over 83.2 innings and walked just seven. In his second start of his career, he threw 62 out of 78 pitches for strikes against Tulane. The 6’-1”, 190-pound right-hander has been just as impressive this year. In his first start against Maryland, he tossed 6.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out nine to one walk. Against Brown in his third start, he went seven scoreless, striking out 11 to no walks, allowing three hits. Over his 19.2 innings on the season, he has 26 K/4 BB and has allowed just nine hits. He uses his low-90s sinker to bury hitters and sets up the pitch with a low-80s change-up with good deception. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft/29840#fm24otWuYCEocLQZ.99

6-1-13 - College Baseball 360‏ @CB360updates - LSU's Aaron Nola (7IP-5UER-6H-3BB-6K) pitcher of record when 4R t8 vs. Sam Houston (8-5)...SHSU's Caleb Smith no-dec. (2.2-4R/3ER-6H-4BB)

6-9-13  -   6.Aaron Nola, RHP (LSU): The righty was sitting in the low-to-mid 90s consistently in 2013, holding his velocity late into games. He controls his fastball well, only allowing 17 walks in 109 IP. http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2013/06/09/2014-mlb-draft-top-30-prospects/

6-9-13  -  16. Colorado Rockies — Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Maybe the best control artist available in the 2014 MLB draft, the 6’-2” right-hander features a plus, low-90s fastball with nasty sink to it. He offsets his fastball with a deceptive change-up that freezes hitters. As a freshman, he had 89 K/7 BB over 89.2 innings and 40 of those strikeouts were looking. This season, he has been lights-out so far. Over 15 starts, he is 11-0 with a 1.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 111 K/17 BB over 109 innings. His size limits his upside, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better pitcher in the true sense of the word out there. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-mock-draft-1-0-no-time-like-the-present/34008#Vj5KQGPZZT1XUyhx.99

6-10-13 -  Aaron Nola, RHP, Louisiana State -  Like the other pitchers on this list, Nola shows very good stuff.  His fastball sits 89-93 and touches 94, with good run.  His slider and change are also good pitches.  Nola shows exceptional command and can throw any pitch on any count. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2013/06/10/2014-mlb-draft-early-college-names-to-know/

6/-11-13 - 5. Aaron Nola, RHP, Louisiana State: What's a Draft class without a top LSU arm? Nola was LSU's Friday starter this year, going 12-0 with a 1.68 ERA, striking out nearly a batter per inning while holding hitters to a .187 BAA. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130611&content_id=50293726&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_50293726

16. Colorado Rockies — Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Maybe the best control artist available in the 2014 MLB draft, the 6’-2” right-hander features a plus, low-90’s fastball with nasty sink to it. He offsets his fastball with a deceptive change-up that freezes hitters. As a freshman, he had 89 K/7 BB over 89.2 innings and 40 of those strikeouts were looking. This season, he has been lights-out so far. Over 15 starts, he is 11-0 with a 1.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 111 K/17 BB over 109 innings. His size limits his upside but you’d be hard pressed to find a better pitcher in the true sense of the word out there. http://beforeitsnews.com/sports/2013/06/2014-mlb-mock-draft-1-0-no-time-like-the-present-2513748.html?currentSplittedPage=2

6-16-13  -  Aaron Fitt ‏@aaronfitt  - Aaron Nola and Plutko were both fantastic, as expected. Nola was 87-90 late, had 92 when needed it. He loves that backdoor breaking ball vs. LHHs.

6-16-13  -  College Baseball 360 ‏@CB360updates - Aaron Nola done for LSU (8 IP–2 unearned runs–5H–BB–HB–5K) ... Nick Rumbelow in ... all 7 runs allowed by Nola in 2013 NCAAs unearned

6-28-13 - Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Nola represents a change from the hard-throwing pitching prospects like Rodon and Beede with ability to throw multiple pitches at an average to above-average level and great maturity and pitchability on the mound. Though Nola's stuff doesn't quite compare to Rodon or Beede, it's still appealing as a #2 or solid #3 starter in an MLB rotation. His fastball and curve are his best pitches, both with the potential to be plus, and mixes in an average changeup. His control is among the best in the draft, and his fastball has some sink on it. A few things working against Nola; he's only 6'1'' so he doesn't have the prototypical frame or projection a lot of teams look for when drafting a pitcher in the top five picks. And though he's the third best college pitcher right now, pitchers just below him with better pure stuff like Michael Cederoth and Nick Burdi could overtake Nola if they dominate their draft-year seasons, much like Jonathan Gray did http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2013/6/28/4450674/the-way-too-early-2014-tcb-astros-draft-board

8-14-13 – Through The Fence – Top 50 Prospects – 20. Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Maybe the best control artist available in the 2014 MLB draft, the 6’-1” right-hander features a plus, low-90s fastball with nasty sink to it. He offsets his fastball with a deceptive change-up that freezes hitters. As a freshman, he had 89 K/7 BB over 89.2 innings and 40 of those strikeouts were looking. He was lights-out as a sophomore for LSU, going 12-1 over 17 starts with a 1.57 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 122 K/18 BB over 126 innings. His size limits his upside a bit, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better pitcher, in the true sense of the word, out there. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-top-50-prospects/36463#mwWwsFxSUZy7YC5V.99

9-1-13 - Jim Callis – 10. Aaron Nola, rhp, Louisiana State - With his solid fastball, plus changeup and impressive pitchability, he’ll move quickly in pro ball."

9-4-13 – Mack’s Mock Draft v1.0 – 31 – RHP Aaron Nola – LSU – Nola is considered the top control pitcher in the 2014 draft. As a sophomore, he went 12-1 over 17 starts with a 1.57 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 122 K/18 BB over 126 innings. Low 90s fastball with nasty sink. Lack of height (6-2) could send him to the pen.

9-29-13 – XMLBScout – 17.)RHP, Aaron Nola, LSU, 6'1 185, R/R, classic quick arm and comparisons to Jake Peavy, arm side run and fb that tops 94 on occ, pitchability and a gamer, commands the strike zone, not real tall but gets good leverage and sink on his fb, hard slurvy breaking ball that will end up becoming a slider, also solid straight change that will be a 3rd pitch for him in pro ball. Early 1-3 round guy for 2014! http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/

9-30-13 – TTF Mock 2.0 - 23. Texas Rangers — Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU  Maybe the best control artist available in the 2014 MLB draft, the 6’-1” right-hander features a plus, low-90s fastball with nasty sink to it. He offsets his fastball with a deceptive change-up that freezes hitters. As a freshman, he had 89 K/7 BB over 89.2 innings and 40 of those strikeouts were looking. He was lights-out as a sophomore for LSU, going 12-1 over 17 starts with a 1.57 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 122 K/18 BB over 126 innings. His size limits his upside a bit, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better pitcher, in the true sense of the word, out there. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-mock-draft-2-0-draft-order-set/38280#5E3F5j1jWOgE69bJ.99

10-15-13 – Baseball America - 10. Aaron Nola, rhp, Louisiana State: Smallish, athletic college ace has excellent life on a low-90s fastball and plus changeup. http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2014-draft-top-50-october-2013-carlos-rodon/

11-4-13 – MLB Draft Insider - Top 14 for ’14: College Pitchers - 5. Aaron Nola / RHP / LSU – Nola was one of the best pitchers in the SEC last year, pounding the strike zone with a low 90′s fastball and above-average secondary offerings. His arm slot is a major concern from the scouts I’ve talked to, however. http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2013/11/top-14-for-14-college-pitchers/

11-19-13 - Aaron Nola (RHP) - College: LSU - In short, Nola’s numbers for LSU in 2013 were absolutely ridiculous. In 17 starts, he had 126 innings pitched–good for a little over seven and one/third innings per start. His control was impeccable walking just 18 batters while striking out 122, giving him an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.78. At 6’1″, 183 pounds, Nola doesn’t have that towering pitcher build that scouts rave about, but as you can see by the numbers, he doesn’t really need it. He makes up for it by employing a somewhat deceptive three-quarters motion to provide exception movement on three above-average pitches. His go-to is his sinker which touches 94 MPH with both downward and tailing movement. He also has a plus changeup that mimics the movement of his fastball. Finally, he has an above-average 11-5 breaking ball which is resembles a slurve more than just a curveball or slider. Baseball America has him 10th in their latest 2014 draft rankings, so he, like Turner, will likely be unavailable by the time the Cardinals pick. However, if interested here is a video of him pitching in the Cape Cod League in 2012. His deceptive whipping motion is on full display in the video. In my opinion, he has the best chance of any pitching prospect to make a Michael Wacha-like rise through a team’s farm system. Let’s hope he doesn’t end up in the National League Central. http://stlcupofjoe.com/2013/11/19/2014-mlb-draft-five-prospects-to-keep-an-eye-on-part-2/

  11-27-13 – Big League Futures Top 25 Poll –   22 Aaron Nola    RHP Louisiana State http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2013/11/26/mlb-draft-top-25-prospects-poll/

12-9-13 – Pine Tar Press  -  14- RHP Aaron Nola LSU 6/4/93- He is the younger brother of former LSU SS Austin. Aaron dominated his sophomore year winning 12 games with a 1.57 E.R.A and 122 K. He projects as a solid mid rotation guy who commands 3 pitches well. He is a type of arm that I could see fly thru a system as he is about as finished of a product of anyone in this class.(Diamondbacks @ 16)  http://pinetarpress.com/early  -look-2014-mlb-draft/

1-3-14 – TTF Baseball - 15. Los Angeles Angels — Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Few can match the kind of control Nola possesses. The 6’-1” right-hander features a plus, low-90s fastball with nasty sink to it. He offsets his fastball with a deceptive change-up that freezes hitters. As a freshman, he had 89 K/7 BB over 89.2 innings and 40 of those strikeouts were looking. He was lights-out as a sophomore for LSU, going 12-1 over 17 starts with a 1.57 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 122 K/18 BB over 126 innings. His size limits his upside a bit, and he isn’t a power arm, but not many can toss a game like he can. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-2/40753#ppGUqI6CbWFvzsPf.99


1-20-14 – PG Preseason College All-Americans – Starting Pitcher - Aaron Nola, Louisiana State - 2013 Stats: 1.57 ERA, 126 IP, 122 K, 18 BB, .188 OPP BA] - The Tigers had one of the nation’s best teams and rotations last season, and it should be much of the same this spring with Nola and lefthanded pitcher Cody Glenn leading the charge. Nola, a 6-foot-1, 183-pounder, is Mr. Command out on the mound, as evidenced by his incredibly low walk total from last season. From a stuff standpoint, Nola has a fastball that typically sits in the low-90s. However, he can get up to 94 at times. Meanwhile, his curveball sits in the upper-70s, along with a low-80s changeup. http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=9294

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