When the Phillies drafted Aaron Nola back in 2014, it was his ability to locate his pitches – especially his curveball – that made him worthy of a first-round selection. That ability helped Nola reach the major-leagues just one year after being drafted.
Nola employed his curve quite a lot in 2016 and it was effective. He threw it 33.8% of the time, tied with Jose Fernandez for second among all pitchers with 100 or more innings. Nola’s curve was worth 9.3 runs above average, fifth-highest in the majors. It also had the most horizontal movement of any pitcher’s curveball according to Pitch f/X.