The A4988 driver is good for 1A coil current without active cooling and heat sink. 1.5A with.
Choose the motor first, then the driver.
A NEMA 23 will likely need a driver capable of more than 2A. The TB6600 is a popular driver that is good for up to 4A.
The Accelstepper and MobaTools stepper libraries may make things easier. I am starting to like MobaTools more as time goes on. Though your application may be simple enough that you don't need a library. See Robin2's simple stepper code tutorial.