Philadelphia Phillies Veteran Catcher Heaps Praise Rising Star Reliever

It's obvious the Philadelphia Phillies are in a win-now mindset given the condition of their roster.

With a squad full of veterans, they have one of baseball's top teams and will contend for the World Series in 2025.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson will employ his bullpen in a mix-and-match fashion, using the closer-by-committee approach like he has throughout his tenure as skipper.

There are several relievers who might be eligible to pitch in the ninth inning; Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering.

Fans are expecting the 23-year-old Kerkering to become the Phillies' full-time closer at some point during his career, and he will likely have his opportunity to record some saves this season.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto concurs.

During a recent appearance on "The Phillies Show" podcast, Realmuto discussed Kerkering and expressed confidence that the young right-hander will eventually be a closer in Major League Baseball.

"Yeah, absolutely, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be a closer in this game for sure. He has that 'it' factor where when he steps on the mound, it seems like there's no crowd, there's no nothing going on, it's just him and the hitter. He's trying to execute and no moment really seems too big for him, so I definitely think he has that mentality."

With 62 appearances in his first full Major League season, Kerkering flourished and soon established himself as a key player in late-game scenarios.

He had a 2.29 ERA after throwing 63 innings, striking out 74 batters.

Given his strong advanced metrics and FIP of 2.42, his raw results were as good as his advanced stats suggested. Both his strikeout rate of 29.5% and walk rate of 7.0% are better than the league average.

Additionally, his hard hit rate of 33.5% and average exit velocity of 86.5 mph both significantly outperform the league average.

He has all the makings of a game changer because he can keep the ball in the park, produces ground balls quickly and doesn't give up fly balls.

A week after Opening Day, Kerkering will be 24, but as Realmuto claims, he has already displayed the mound presence and demeanor of a closer.

All signs point to Kerkering being one of the Phillies player poised to break out in 2025.

Recommended Articles