CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Aaron Nola made his first start of the spring Friday against the Miami Marlins and looked sharper than he did this time a year ago, averaging 91.7 mph with his fastball compared to 91.0 last March 1.
Beyond the velocity, which is always important for Nola, he incorporated all five of his pitches: four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, knuckle-curve, cutter and changeup.
The reasoning was two-fold. Nola had a dismal 2025 season and knew he needed to change things up over the winter. And he also wanted to get a feel for his entire repertoire earlier than usual because he'll be pitching in an intense environment by the second week of March for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
"I felt crisp," the 12th-year Phillie said. "I just feel a little bit more prepared. I was able to throw all of my pitches a little bit quicker and earlier just because I started earlier and got more bullpen (sessions) under my belt before the first game.
"More long-tossing. Usually I take a lot more time off and use spring training to ramp up. It's kind've nice to be a little bit more ready going into the first game."
Nola will make one more spring training start with the Phillies before moving on to the World Baseball Classic. He said he expects to start for the Phillies on March 4 against Team Canada in a WBC warm-up game, then he will start for Italy against Mexico on March 11 in its final game of pool play. Taijuan Walker is pitching for Mexico but is not expected to face Nola that day.
"Talking to the guys, I feel like it's a playoff game," Nola said of the upcoming WBC. "So I've got two starts before, pretty much, a playoff game. So I wanted to focus in a little bit more on today's game and turn up the focus a little bit."
The difference in his winter/spring approach can only help because Nola pitched to a 6.01 ERA in 17 starts, missing three months from mid-May through mid-August with a right ankle sprain, then a fractured rib.
"Obviously last year wasn't a great year," he said. "I had some good games sprinkled in there. I take the bad ones and learn from it, take the good ones and run with those. Just take it game by game this year like I always do."
That's always been the thing about Nola. It's hard to ever predict what might happen pitch to pitch, inning to inning or start to start. He is capable of striking out nine in a row, then allowing five runs in the fourth or fifth inning. He is almost always around the plate, so when he misses too fat over the middle, he can pay the price quickly.
"The injury last year kind've cut it in half," he said. "Before that, I felt great; I felt earlier than my younger-30s. But my body feels really good; I'm ramping up nicely. I hope I'm healthy all year to throw 32, 33 starts like I usually do."
There's no new pitch for Nola, no grand plan to adjust his arsenal after the worst year of his career. His focus is always command, along with finding a rhythm with his four-seamer and sinker.
"Try to get that late jump on the fastball," he said. "I'm not going to be throwing 100; I want the late life, so that's what I focus on. It's just extension."