Aaron Nola, the seventh overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 Draft, is set to take the mound for the first time in a major league uniform tonight when he makes his debut for the team in front of family, friends and a home crowd against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies top-pitching prospect is a Baseball Factory alumnus who attended two separate Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryouts while growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, participated in a Shreveport tryout in November 2008 and in New Orleans in May 2010 before playing college baseball for Louisiana State University.

While at LSU, the ace-of-the-staff dominated his college competition, winning the 2014 National Pitcher of the Year award, after a season in which he went 11-1 with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 134 batters in just 116 1/3 innings. After being drafted, Nola continued his dominance in the minor leagues, making 11 starts last season and into this season, posting a 2.38 ERA, striking out 92 batters in 109 1/3 innings between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley and he’s done all of this in just 13 months time.

Scouts and team officials rave about the righty’s fastball, which he locates well and one that sits in the mid 90’s. His secondary pitches have worked well for him too, throwing a sharp curveball and change-up.

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager, Pete Mackanin is hopeful in Nola’s ability to pitch at the highest level, telling the Philadelphia media recently, “His stuff is good enough to be effective at this level. Depending on how well he commands his pitches, that’s going to take him as far as it can take him. So we’re all anxious to see him.”