Orion Kerkering

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #6 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: In his first two seasons at South Florida, Kerkering was almost exclusively a reliever. In his draft season, he shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen and achieved mixed results. Confident in what they’d seen in previous seasons, the Phillies drafted Kerkering in the fifth round in 2022. He moved through all four levels of the minor leagues in 2023, made his big league debut on Sept. 24 and was a part of the Phillies’ playoff roster.
  
  Scouting Report: Kerkering works largely with two pitches--a high-90s two-seam fastball and a monster of a mid-80s slider that won Best Breaking Pitch in the Florida State, South Atlantic and Eastern leagues in BA’s Best Tools voting. The combination helped him rack up 79 strikeouts in 53.2 innings before his callup. He then added six more punchouts in three big league innings. The slider is so good, in fact, that he uses it to set up his fastball. He threw it 53% of the time in the minor leagues, then went even further by throwing it on 51 of his 60 big league pitches in the regular season. The slider’s effectiveness can be explained by two factors: The velocity and fierce, two-plane movement that includes roughly 17 inches of sweep. The results were a 51% miss rate in the minors and a 40% rate in the big leagues. Kerkering also has thrown a changeup and a curveball but used neither in the majors or minors. The biggest holes scouts could find in Kerkering’s game were a lack of elite life on his fastball and a need to better learn how to deploy his arsenal in the types of situations he’d face in pressure situations in the big leagues.
  
  The Future: Kerkering is a near-lock to make Philadelphia’s bullpen on Opening Day. He should be an elite reliever for a long time.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Slider: 70 | Control: 45
• 
  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #25 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Kerkering pitched primarily out of the bullpen for South Florida in 2020 and 2021, but split his time between starting and relief in 2022. He struck out 12.1 batters per nine and walked just 2.5 per nine, but gave up 75 hits in 67.2 innings. The Phillies drafted him in the fifth round in 2022 on the strength of his fastball/slider combination. He made six appearances in 2022 between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Clearwater.
  
  Scouting Report: Despite making 10 starts for South Florida in 2022, the Phillies plan to use Kerkering as a reliever and believe he can move quickly in that role. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and tops out at 97 mph, and he used it more than 50% of the time in 2022. His slider sits in the mid 80s with plenty of spin and on average exceeded 2,700 rpm in 2022. It's a plus pitch that gives him a swing-and-miss offering. He also has an infrequently-used changeup that's a below-average pitch and could end up being ditched as he progresses through the minor leagues. Kerkering throws quality strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: The Phillies believe Kerkering should move quickly in a relief role, and he'll likely start the 2023 season at High-A Jersey Shore.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 50.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #197 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: South Florida Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.3
  BA Grade: 35/High
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: - | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: | Control: 50
  Kerkering pitched strictly out of the bullpen for South Florida during his first two seasons with the program, but in 2022 bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and bullpen. His results were mixed, but scouts think when he gets into an established role at the next level, he could find more success. He posted a 5.72 ERA this spring over 67.2 innings, with 91 strikeouts (30.3 K%) and 19 walks (6.3 BB%). A 6-foot-2, 204-pound righthander, Kerkering mostly pitches off a fastball/slider combination. His fastball sits around 93 and gets up to 97 with average life and his mid-80s slider is a high-spin pitch (2,700-2,900 rpm) that was used more than 40% of the time this spring and generated whiffs at a 41% rate. It’s a potential plus offering that could be a consistent swing-and-miss pitch at the next level. He has also thrown a show-me changeup in the mid 80s that is used mainly against lefthanded hitters and has some slight fading life. It wouldn’t be surprising for a team to draft Kerkering, put him in a reliever role and continue to up his slider usage at the next level.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Kerkering pitched primarily out of the bullpen for South Florida in 2020 and 2021, but split his time between starting and relief in 2022. He struck out 12.1 batters per nine and walked just 2.5 per nine, but gave up 75 hits in 67.2 innings. The Phillies drafted him in the fifth round in 2022 on the strength of his fastball/slider combination. He made six appearances in 2022 between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Clearwater.
  
  Scouting Report: Despite making 10 starts for South Florida in 2022, the Phillies plan to use Kerkering as a reliever and believe he can move quickly in that role. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and tops out at 97 mph, and he used it more than 50% of the time in 2022. His slider sits in the mid 80s with plenty of spin and on average exceeded 2,700 rpm in 2022. It's a plus pitch that gives him a swing-and-miss offering. He also has an infrequently-used changeup that's a below-average pitch and could end up being ditched as he progresses through the minor leagues. Kerkering throws quality strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: The Phillies believe Kerkering should move quickly in a relief role, and he'll likely start the 2023 season at High-A Jersey Shore.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Kerkering pitched primarily out of the bullpen for South Florida in 2020 and 2021, but split his time between starting and relief in 2022. He struck out 12.1 batters per nine and walked just 2.5 per nine, but gave up 75 hits in 67.2 innings. The Phillies drafted him in the fifth round in 2022 on the strength of his fastball/slider combination. He made six appearances in 2022 between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Clearwater.
  
  Scouting Report: Despite making 10 starts for South Florida in 2022, the Phillies plan to use Kerkering as a reliever and believe he can move quickly in that role. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and tops out at 97 mph, and he used it more than 50% of the time in 2022. His slider sits in the mid 80s with plenty of spin and on average exceeded 2,700 rpm in 2022. It's a plus pitch that gives him a swing-and-miss offering. He also has an infrequently-used changeup that's a below-average pitch and could end up being ditched as he progresses through the minor leagues. Kerkering throws quality strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: The Phillies believe Kerkering should move quickly in a relief role, and he'll likely start the 2023 season at High-A Jersey Shore.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  August Update: Kerkering pitched strictly out of the bullpen for South Florida during his first two seasons with the program, but in 2022 bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and bullpen. His results were mixed, but scouts think when he gets into an established role at the next level, he could find more success. He posted a 5.72 ERA this spring over 67.2 innings, with 91 strikeouts (30.3 K%) and 19 walks (6.3 BB%). A 6-foot-2, 204-pound righthander, Kerkering mostly pitches off a fastball/slider combination. His fastball sits around 93 and gets up to 97 with average life and his mid-80s slider is a high-spin pitch (2,700-2,900 rpm) that was used more than 40% of the time this spring and generated whiffs at a 41% rate. It&#39s a potential plus offering that could be a consistent swing-and-miss pitch at the next level. He has also thrown a show-me changeup in the mid 80s that is used mainly against lefthanded hitters and has some slight fading life.