Phillies’ Aaron Nola happy to continue to pitch with and learn from Zack Wheeler: ‘He’s our stud’

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Aaron Nola was getting coffee in the Phillies clubhouse cafeteria on Monday morning when he overheard Kyle Schwarber talking to Zack Wheeler. At one point, Schwarber said, “Congrats.” Nola assumed he was referring to the birth of Wheeler’s third child.

He later realized that there was even more to celebrate. Wheeler had just signed a three-year, $126 million extension that would keep him in Philadelphia through 2027. Nola, who signed a seven-year contract with the Phillies in November, was ecstatic.

“I knew that he was going to be OK, no matter what, but I’m really glad we got that extension,” Nola said. “Much needed for us. It just boosts our pitching staff that much more. He’s our guy. He’s our stud.”

» READ MORE: Wheeler wanted fewer years in his new deal. Here’s what it means for him and the Phillies’ ‘championship window.’

Nola has been around some great pitchers in his career. When he was a rookie in 2015, he overlapped with Cole Hamels. He shared a rotation with Jake Arrieta for three seasons. But it wasn’t until 2020, when the Phillies signed Wheeler, that he found a teammate who could really push him.

Nola and Wheeler induce a lot of strikeouts and keep walks to a minimum, but each starter does it his own way. Nola freezes hitters with the movement on his pitches, particularly his knuckle curve. Wheeler throws a few ticks harder but is able to locate the ball anywhere he wants.

Nevertheless, their goal on any given night is the same. Both want to pitch as deep as they can, as dominantly as they can. They help each other do it. Nola says there are things he has taken from Wheeler’s game and incorporated into his own.

Not all of them have stuck. Wheeler has tried to teach Nola a few pitch grips — on his cutter and his sinker — which haven’t worked for Nola because his hands are smaller and he has a different arm slot. But certain things have, mainly Wheeler’s ability to flush a bad start quickly.

“His presence helps me,” Nola said. “He’s calm. It’s good to have a guy like that. It’s not like he has a lot of bad outings, right? But to see a guy of his caliber dominate and then have a bad game or two … he just flushes it and goes back to not even thinking about it. He just goes about his day, and then goes out and competes the next time.

“Competing is obviously the No. 1 thing that we do, no matter what we’re tinkering with or doing in between starts. That’s what he’s so good at is — no matter what — he’s going out there and trying to get the dude out. And not thinking about anything else.

“It’s just calmness on the mound, no matter what. I’ve always had that, but it kind of kicked into another gear once he came over here and I was watching him do his thing.”

» READ MORE: Zack Wheeler’s Phillies teammates are ecstatic that their co-ace is locked in for three more years

There are other things Nola has picked up. He likes how repeatable and simple Wheeler’s delivery is. He has tried to simplify his delivery in the same way by moving his head less and quieting down other movements.

“He only has a couple ticks in his delivery that he needs to [home] in on sometimes, when he does feel off, but he gets them right back, quick,” Nola said. “So I think that’s one thing that I’ve learned — not to have so many ticks in a delivery. I probably do a lot more stuff in my delivery than he does. But I don’t realize that I do it. It’s just natural. But when he feels off, he has like these couple of ticks that he gets back really quick. So I just try to simplify mine down to kind of like his.

“I can see it in bullpens. He does it, he feels it, and then it’s right back to normal for him.”

There will be more things that Nola picks up, big and small. He believes Wheeler has made him a better pitcher.

“He’s an important part of our team, and he will be for the rest of the time he’s here,” Nola said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the league, if not the best, in my opinion. And I love being his teammate.

“I think this extension was something that needed to happen. And we’re all glad it did.”

» READ MORE: In an important spring, Phillies’ Cristian Pache feels ready: ‘My mind is stronger than it was before’