While the Phillies have begun their Grapefruit League schedule, minor leaguers are beginning to report to camp as well. Both JP Crawford and Aaron Nola have shown up to camp early, with minor leaguers set to report on March 6th.
Last season, Nola spent time with Advanced 'A' Clearwater and Double-A Reading, posting a combined 4-3 record to go along with a 2.93 ERA. The 21-year-old out of LSU was not given an invite to big league camp, but he tells Ryan Lawrence of The Daily News, it hasn't changed his focus at all.
Did he have any expectations that he’d be invited to big league camp?
“(The Phillies) didn’t talk to me too much about that,” Nola said. “I knew I was going to be in spring training either way. I was just just focusing no matter wherever they put me in spring training.”
According to Lawrence, just because Nola was not given an invite to big league camp, it doesn't mean we won't get to see him in action during a Grapefruit League game this spring. Both Cole Hamels and Andrew Carpenter have both pitched in major league spring training games even though they spent the majority of their time at the minor league facilities. Between LSU and his professional season in the Phillies organization last season, Nola had a very long season. That being said, the 7th overall pick of the 2014 draft didn't take too much time off before getting back into the swing of things.
“I got a few weeks off from throwing, running and working out – but then I got back to training,” said Nola, who arrived in Clearwater on Friday. “I’ve been training for a few months now. I’m ready to kick it off and prepare for this spring training.”
With rumors swirling around the Phillies pitching rotation, if Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee are moved before the deadline, there may be a chance we could see Nola in red pinstripes before the conclusion of the 2015 campaign. Right now, Nola is just eager to get his first Major League spring training underway.
“Whenever it’s time for them to make that decision, it’s their call,” Nola said. “But, my focus is for spring training right now and get this thing started.”
Nola also told Lawrence that his goals for the spring is to learn as much as he can from everybody, while his goals for the season are to stay healthy throughout the whole year. If he begins the season where he ended 2014, in Reading, that will be the place to see prospects as the rotation will likely include trade acquisitions Tom Windle, Ben Lively and Zaxh Eflin as well.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
