Orion Kerkering
23-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
0.00
WHIP
0.64
K
4
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
A fifth-round pick of the Phillies in 2022, Kerkering opened last season in the minors with the team's Single-A affiliate. He ended 2023 pitching high-leverage innings for Philadelphia in the NLCS, as the 22-year-old right-hander was simply too dominant for the minors. Kerkering posted a remarkable 1.51 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 79:12 K:BB ratio over 53.2 innings while advancing through four levels. The South Florida alum boasts one of the most unique pitches in the game - an 86 mph sweeping slider with 18.6 inches of horizontal break that he threw 85% of the time. The average velocity of a sweeper or slider with 17-plus inches of horizontal break is a mere 80.6 mph, putting Kerkering's pitch on another level. Not to mention, his sinker approached triple digits, topping out at 98.8 mph during the playoffs. It's clear Kerkering has the stuff of a future closer, possibly as early as 2024, but his control is likely to impact whether or not that occurs this season. Read Past Outlooks
Returns from IL
The Phillies reinstated Kerkering (forearm) from the 15-day injured list Sunday.
ANALYSIS
Right-hander Nick Nelson was optioned to Lehigh Valley to clear a spot on the 26-man roster for Kerkering, who is set to make his 2024 debut for the Phillies whenever he's able to get in a game. Though he was officially placed on the IL coming out of spring training with a right forearm strain, his season debut was delayed mostly because he missed extensive time during camp while recovering from a severe case of the flu. Kerkering dazzled over his four rehab appearances between the Single-A and Triple-A levels, however, tossing 4.1 scoreless frames while striking out 10 batters. He looks poised to immediately step into a high-leverage role out of the Philadelphia bullpen.
Right-hander Nick Nelson was optioned to Lehigh Valley to clear a spot on the 26-man roster for Kerkering, who is set to make his 2024 debut for the Phillies whenever he's able to get in a game. Though he was officially placed on the IL coming out of spring training with a right forearm strain, his season debut was delayed mostly because he missed extensive time during camp while recovering from a severe case of the flu. Kerkering dazzled over his four rehab appearances between the Single-A and Triple-A levels, however, tossing 4.1 scoreless frames while striking out 10 batters. He looks poised to immediately step into a high-leverage role out of the Philadelphia bullpen.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
21
Last 10 Games
21
Last 5 Games
21
How many pitches does Orion Kerkering generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Orion Kerkering generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-73%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-100%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .067 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .250 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
2024vs Left | .000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
2024vs Right | .143 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
2023vs Left | .143 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
2023vs Right | .400 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
2022vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2022vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-100%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 0.00 | 0.75 | 4.0 | 13.5 | 4.5 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 2.45 | 1.36 | 3.2 | 9.8 | 4.9 | ||||
2024Home | 0.00 | 0.50 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 4.5 | ||||
2024Away | 0.00 | 0.75 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 3.4 | ||||
2023Home | 0.00 | 1.00 | 2.0 | 18.0 | 4.5 | ||||
2023Away | 9.00 | 3.00 | 1.0 | 18.0 | 9.0 | ||||
2022Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2022Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Orion Kerkering compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.00K/9
7.7BB/9
3.9HR/9
0.0Fastball
97.7 mphERA
0.00WHIP
0.64BABIP
.098GB/FB
1.50Left On Base
100.0%Exit Velocity
73.4 mphBarrels/BBE
0.0%Spin Rate
2727 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
0.0%Swinging Strike
13.4%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Benefiting from rehab assignment
Kerkering noted Friday that he's been getting a better feel for his two-seam fastball during his rehab assignment, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
Kerkering said that his time in the minors and "seeing different hitters and seeing what they do" has helped him figure out how to better use his two-seamer. He started the season on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain and a bad case of the flu that kept him from pitching in Grapefruit League games after March 1. In his latest outing with Single-A Fort Myers, Kerkering pitched a scoreless inning with three strikeouts, and he is expected to return to the Phillies' bullpen this weekend. The 23-year-old has the makings of a future closer.
Kerkering said that his time in the minors and "seeing different hitters and seeing what they do" has helped him figure out how to better use his two-seamer. He started the season on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain and a bad case of the flu that kept him from pitching in Grapefruit League games after March 1. In his latest outing with Single-A Fort Myers, Kerkering pitched a scoreless inning with three strikeouts, and he is expected to return to the Phillies' bullpen this weekend. The 23-year-old has the makings of a future closer.
More Fantasy News
Will be activated Sunday
Kerkering (forearm) will be activated from the injured list before Sunday's game versus the Pirates, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Likely back this weekend
Kerkering (forearm/illness) will make two more rehab appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday and Thursday before being activated from the 15-day injured list, Luke Arcaini of 102.5 FM Philadelphia reports.
ANALYSIS
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Beginning rehab assignment
Kerkering (forearm/illness) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Officially hits IL
The Phillies placed Kerkering (illness) on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right forearm strain.
ANALYSIS
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Will begin season on IL
Manager Rob Thomson said Saturday that Kerkering (illness) will begin the regular season on the 15-day injured list, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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