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Will Phillies Orion Kerkering Keep Up Dominant Start to Career?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Ostrowski | Last updated Mar 26, 2025 8:00 PM ET

It's almost impossible for a rookie to feel like an All-Star snub, but Orion Kerkering found a way to do it for the Philadelphia Phillies. While his club sent an MLB high seven representatives (eight with a substitute) to Arlington last summer, he and his pre-break 1.26 ERA were not one of them.

Other than hitting a short rough patch with the rest of the team, Kerkering was phenomenal out of the Philly bullpen. He finished the season with their third-lowest ERA, behind Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman, and racked up 74 strikeouts in 63 innings. Add on the six he had as a late 2023 callup and Kerkering is well within striking distance of 100 early this season.

He would be the fastest Phillie to that mark since Seranthony Domínguez did it in 78.2 innings between 2018-19.

Philly is putting a lot of faith in Kerkering, who only turns 24 next week. The club let the aforementioned Hoffman leave in free agency, and while they brought in former Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano, there's a wide-open setup spot to fill.

A small sample size says Kerkering is the perfect man for the job. He allowed only one earned run and struck out 14 while pitching in the eighth inning last season. His 14 holds were right behind Hoffman (21) and Strahm (18).

Then while most of the bullpen faltered against the New York Mets in last year's NLDS, Kerkering again gave up just one run and picked up five Ks in 3.2 innings.

If that level of pitching continues, Philly will have gotten tremendous value out of their former 5th round pick... perhaps even enough to help them finish the fight for a World Series Championship.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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