Orion Kerkering

Orion Kerkering

23-Year-Old PitcherRP
Philadelphia Phillies
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
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#334
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Phillies in March of 2024.
Opening Saturday's contest
PPhiladelphia Phillies
August 2, 2024
Kerkering will serve as the Philles' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Mariners, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Kerkering has opened a game once already this season, during which he posted a scoreless inning against the Athletics. He'll now be asked to do the same versus Seattle, giving bulk reliever Kolby Allard one less matchup against the Mariners' top three hitters.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
17
Last 10 Games
17
Last 5 Games
16
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+
 
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+
 
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
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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
 
 
-8%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-14%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-64%
BAA vs LHP
2022
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .235 119 39 11 24 5 0 2
Since 2022vs Right .216 152 41 8 30 8 0 0
2024vs Left .242 112 34 11 23 4 0 2
2024vs Right .209 145 40 6 28 8 0 0
2023vs Left .143 7 5 0 1 1 0 0
2023vs Right .400 7 1 2 2 0 0 0
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-56%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-50%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-100%
ERA at Home
2022
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 1.41 1.03 32.0 3 2 0 10.4 1.4 0.3
Since 2022Away 3.18 1.18 34.0 3 1 0 11.4 3.7 0.3
2024Home 1.50 1.03 30.0 2 2 0 9.9 1.2 0.3
2024Away 3.00 1.12 33.0 3 1 0 11.2 3.5 0.3
2023Home 0.00 1.00 2.0 1 0 0 18.0 4.5 0.0
2023Away 9.00 3.00 1.0 0 0 0 18.0 9.0 0.0
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 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.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.35
 
K/9
10.6
 
BB/9
2.4
 
HR/9
0.3
 
Fastball
97.2 mph
 
ERA
2.29
 
WHIP
1.08
 
BABIP
.321
 
GB/FB
2.44
 
Left On Base
73.6%
 
Exit Velocity
79.5 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
2.7%
 
Spin Rate
2594 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
20.4%
 
Swinging Strike
12.1%
 
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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More Fantasy News
Working as opening pitcher Sunday
PPhiladelphia Phillies
July 14, 2024
Kerkering will serve as the Phillies' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns from IL
PPhiladelphia Phillies
April 14, 2024
The Phillies reinstated Kerkering (forearm) from the 15-day injured list Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Will be activated Sunday
PPhiladelphia Phillies
Forearm
April 13, 2024
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
PPhiladelphia Phillies
Forearm
April 9, 2024
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
PPhiladelphia Phillies
Forearm
March 30, 2024
Kerkering (forearm/illness) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Benefiting from rehab assignment
PPhiladelphia Phillies
April 12, 2024
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.
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