Aaron Nola selected to first National League All-Star team

Aaron Nola will get the ball for the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a double-header against the New York Mets Monday. When he toes the rubber for the Phillies, he’ll do so as a  National League All-Star.

The 25-year-old, who the Phillies selected in the first-round of the 2014 MLB Draft, was selected to his first National League All-Star team Sunday. Nola’s selection was a foregone conclusion, as he’s 11-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 2.73 FIP and 3.6 fWAR in his first 18 starts of the 2018 season. FanGraphs says that Nola has been the seventh best pitcher in the majors in 2018, and the third best in the National League, trailing fellow All-Stars Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.

Nola will become the first Phillies first-round pick to make an All-Star team since Cole Hamels, who made three All-Star appearances with the Phillies and has four overall in his career. He’s the first Phillies starting pitcher to be selected to the All-Star team since Cliff Lee in 2013.

In fact, the list of Phillies starting pitchers to make the All-Star Game over the last 10 years is a pretty illustrious group; Hamels, Lee and Roy Halladay. Halladay will posthumously be inducted onto the Phillies Wall of Fame next month, while Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, is a lock to be inducted when his career concludes. Lee, who made two All-Star teams with the Phillies and was one of the best pitchers of his era will draw consideration in the coming years.

The MLB All-Star Game will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 17 at Nationals Park.