Cardinals News: 7 notable players who were drafted 7th overall

Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola was initially drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 MLB Draft, but he chose to forego that assignment and go to college at Louisiana State University for three years. He was later drafted seventh overall in 2014 by the Philadelphia Phillies. Nola has stayed with that organization ever since, and it seems like that he'll retire there after his most recent contract.

Nola threw 332 innings in his three years at LSU, and his ERA was sterling over the years, finishing at 1.47 in the 2014 season. He finished his college career with a 30-6 record while striking out 334 batters. The accolades list for the right-handed starter is extensive. He was the SEC pitcher of the year in 2013 and 2014 along with being First-Team All-SEC in 2014. He was voted the National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation in 2014 as well.

All of this success and recognition led to Aaron Nola being selected seventh overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 draft. He's been nothing but great for the Phillies since then. Nola is in his tenth season in Philadelphia, and while he doesn't have the award recognition he might be wanting, he has had plenty of success. Nola's 35.9 fWAR total ranks 5th among all starting pitchers since 2015, the year he debuted.

He has a career 3.70 ERA to go along with 1,698 strikeouts in 1,541.2 innings. He's seen Cy Young votes in three separate seasons, and he's finished as high as 3rd in the race. He had one All-Star appearance in 2018, and he even received some down-ballot MVP votes that year. Aaron Nola likely won't be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he can retire in a few years knowing he was one of the best pitchers of his time.