Aaron Nola is in his 11th season with the Philadelphia Phillies. In that time he’s proven to be one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the league. At one point he made six straight Opening Day starts for the Phillies, before passing the torch to Zach Wheeler, who Nola believes is worthy of the honor.

While Nola has put together an admirable career in Philadelphia, there is no question he’s struggling early on in 2025. And now he’ll hit the injured list as the Phillies moved the pitcher to the 15-day IL with an ankle sprain, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki on X.

While the 32-year-old veteran is recovering from his ankle ailment, the Phillies will use the opportunity to see what highly-regarded pitching prospect Mick Abel can do when he makes his MLB debut Sunday against Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Phillies will get a look at a top prospect in Aaron Nola’s absence

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Able is actually the Phillies’ number eight overall prospect, and third pitching prospect at the moment. But he’s been starting at the Triple-A level since being elevated to the IronPigs in 2023 and the organization believes he’s ready.

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Additionally, Philadelphia’s top prospect, Andrew Painter, is still working out some kinks in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which cost him the 2023 and 2024 season. While the Phillies envision Painter getting his shot with the Big League club in 2025, he’s more likely to debut closer to the middle of the season, giving him enough time to fully recover from his injury.

The team’s current plan is to have Abel make his debut in place of Nola Sunday. Then Philadelphia will send the young prospect back to Triple-A and Taijuan Walker will take Nola’s spot until he’s ready to return, per Zolecki.

Walker began the season in the Phillies’ rotation and pitched well. But Ranger Suarez's return from injury left Walker as the odd man out and the team moved him to the bullpen. The new role paid off immediately as Walker reached a career milestone as a reliever, notching his first-ever save.

While Nola has built up years of trust with the organization and it’s unlikely a slow start will cost him his starting role, the Phillies have an abundance of starting pitchers. This fact could mean that Nola’s leash is a bit shorter than it otherwise might be.

So far in nine starts, Nola is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA, 1.510 WHIP and 69 ERA+. He had a disastrous outing against the Cardinals Wednesday, allowing nine runs on 12 hits and picking up his seventh loss.