Nola’s first two years in the Majors were uneventful, but in 2017 he was a more confident Pitcher and posted a respectable 12-11 record with a 3.54 ERA and 184 Strikeouts. That year was a building block for what has been to date the best year of Nola’s career. 2018 saw Nola went 17-6, was an All-Star and was third in Cy Young voting. Nola threw 224 Strikeouts that year and was first in bWAR for Pitchers. The native of Baton Rouge did not do as well in 2019, but he posted a decent 12-7 record and broke his single-season Strikeouts mark with 229. He remained strong in 2020, finishing third in Strikeouts.
After slipping in 2021, Nola had a losing record in 2022 (11-13), but was on of the best Pitchers in the Natinal League, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting, fourth in WHIP (0.961), was second in bWAR for Pitchers (6.0), and led the league in H/9 (1.3) and SO/BB (8.10). In 2023, Nola slipped with a 4.46 ERA, though he did have 202 Strikeouts with a winning record of 12-9, and last year, he went 14.8 with a 3.57 ERA and was 11th in Cy Young voting.
As of this writing, Nola has completed ten seasons, with five of them fanning over 200 batters. He is a valuable member of their staff, and could be for many more years.
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