Philadelphia Phillies: Gabe Kapler gets it right starting Aaron Nola Opening Day

On Sunday, Gabe Kapler made it official that Aaron Nola would be the Opening Day starter for the Philadelphia Phillies on March 29 against the Atlanta Braves.

When looking at how well the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers have been playing ever since the Philadelphia Eagles were crowned Super Bowl LII champions, fans would love to see similar results once baseball season officially gets underway at the March. These last few years have been anything but easy for the Philadelphia Phillies since they haven’t finished with a winning record in each of the last six seasons.

However, there’s actually some excitement surrounding the Phillies for a change heading into 2018 season with the team hiring Gabe Kapler as their new manager along with some great young talent to work with, such as Rhys Hoskins. Philadelphia’s offense may need some work if they’re going to have any chance of emerging as contenders this season, but at least when it comes to the rotation, the unit has plenty of great talent to work with, especially when it comes to Aaron Nola.

In fact, it will be Nola who will kickoff the season on the mound for the Phillies on March 29 when the team takes on a familiar face in the Atlanta Braves, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans at all. For a rotation that also consists of Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez, Nola was arguably the one who stood out the most last season after being the only pitcher with a winning record at 12-11.

While this may not seem like a big deal, keep in mind this was actually progress for Nola when considering he finished with a 6-9 record the year before. Not to mention, it should also be noted that Nola recorded at least eight strikeouts in each of his final four starts, making it obvious why Kapler already announced how he would be the Opening Day pitcher against the Braves.

Next: 2017 NFL Draft: Re-selecting the first round

Unlike last year, Nola will be considered the go-to guy for this rotation, and as long as he picks up right where he left off at the end of last year, there’s every reason to believe the pitcher will be in for a solid 2018 campaign. Opening Day may still be more than a month away, but at least Kapler and the Phillies don’t have to worry about who will be on the mound since Nola has already been named the starter, and will hopefully help his team start off the season on a hot note.