He says he was named Orion after the Constellation, Orion the Hunter.

July 25, 2022: The Phillies chose RHP Orion Kerkering in the 5th round, out of the Univ. of South Florida. He signed via scout Bryce Harman.

In 2024, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Orion as the Phillies 6th-best prospect.

Kerkering looks like he has the potential to be a big-league closer thanks to a dominating fastball and wipeout slider. He fills the strike zone, gets ahead in the count and puts hitters away as quickly as possible. The Phillies recently promoted Kerkering from Low A to High A, but don’t be surprised if he’s in the big leagues by September.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski: “Kerkering has an outstanding fastball and slider. Has a chance to move very quickly and be a tremendous bullpen pitcher.” (Bowden - May 18, 2023 - The Athletic)

Sept 22, 2023: The Phillies selected the contract of 22-year-old Kerkering, who began the season at Single-A Clearwater and is the club's No. 7 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline. The Phillies made room for Orion on both the 28 and 40-man roster. He is eligible for the postseason.

Kerkering, 22, was 4-1 with 14 saves, a 1.51 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP across 49 relief appearances with Single-A Clearwater, High-A Jersey Shore, Double-A Reading (21) and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

MLB DEBUT

MLB debut (Sept. 24, 2023): Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering was drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft. Only 14 months later, the 22-year-old entered his first MLB game and retired the Mets 1-2-3 in the eighth inning, earning his first career hold. (Manuel Gómez)

Sept 24, 2023:  Ready to fulfill a lifelong dream, Orion Kerkering exited the bullpen door.

He jogged to the mound to make his MLB debut in the eighth inning in the 5-2 victory over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park, reducing the Phillies’ magic number to make the postseason to one. Kerkering said he felt some nerves, until he relaxed when he heard Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker say his name and the crowd cheer.

“I was just trying to have a blast with it,” he said.

Kerkering looked dominant in a scoreless inning. He struck out two, both on sliders.

“As advertised,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

Kerkering got promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday because the Phillies think he has the stuff to pitch in the postseason. If it happens, he will be the first Phillies pitcher to make his debut in September and pitch in the playoffs since Marty Bystrom in 1980. Kerkering did not seem overwhelmed by the moment. His family was, but understandably so. His father, Todd, was brought to tears as his son struck out two Mets batters.

Orion got to hug everybody afterward on the field.

“It was an awesome moment, it was a real moment,” he said. “I heard everybody was crying on TV. Just great for TV, so can’t complain.” (T Zolecki - MLB.com - Sept 24, 2023)

Todd Kerkering, Orion's father, who was a recon Marine and sniper during his 20 years in the Marine Corps, does not know why he cried. He cried when Orion called him last week to tell him he had realized a dream of being called up. The morning after the baseball world watched him cry, Todd Kerkering saw a bunch of texts from his old Marine buddies.

“Yeah,” Todd responded, “you saw me cry like a baby.”

It was a beautiful moment, a father so proud of his son, whose incredible six-month journey has carried him from the Florida State League to the majors.

“I guess it was just seeing the kid,” Todd, who is 59, said. “I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of good things. I’ve seen a lot of ugly things in my life. I guess maybe it’s a culmination of all those things through life and, you finally reach a point when you get to something that is just unbelievable. I mean, there are 900 guys roughly in the MLB right now at that level. And he’s one of them. You know? I mean, I don’t know. It’s just what came out.” 

“I always told Orion when he was young,” Todd said, “some kids quit when they’re 10 and some kids get to quit when they’re 40. You pick. You have fun.”

There was only one rule.

“You have to put in that work,” Todd said. “And he put in the work. I told him, ‘Whatever you do, just be the best at it. Go have fun with whatever you do in life. You want to be the best plumber? Be the best plumber. You want to be the best doctor? Just work hard and enjoy what you do.’ I guess it was just a lot of emotion coming out that way. Just seeing him.” 

Todd knew his son was a good player when he was in high school. He ditched a curveball to throw the slider he throws now. He gained strength and velocity and confidence. He played for the Florida Burn, a major travel ball program, and one of his teammates was Braden Halladay. (Gelb - Sep 25, 2023 - The Athletic)

Oscar Espada had moved from Puerto Rico to Sarasota, Fla., only a few months before Orion walked into the Florida International Baseball Academy. Espada was looking for pitchers to tutor. Kerkering was a high school sophomore. They met every Wednesday night beginning in 2016. “Orion is a different kind of guy,” Espada said. The pitching coach was not sure what to make of the kid. But one thing was obvious.

“He had a very bad curveball,” Espada said.

Espada watched Kerkering a few times. The coach took notes. He studied Orion's lower arm slot and his cross-body delivery. This made Espada think about a slider.

And then, in one of their earlier sessions, Espada discovered the last piece of evidence — the detail that makes Kerkering’s slider different than most others.

“I don’t know if you’ve shaken his hands before,” Espada said, “but Orion has extremely long fingers. That actually prompted me to switch him to a slider.”

The pitch that everyone is talking about this October was born. “It’s incredible what he’s doing,” Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “He’s so calm out there. You’d never know that he’s 22 years old with no experience.”

“The fact that he has such long fingers allowed him to actually change speeds on his slider,” Espada said.

This was what separated Orion. He could throw a quick and short slider, then another one with less velocity but more break. This was a sweeper before sweepers were a thing. 

Jeff Hoffman revealed a new nickname for Kerkering:  Diaper. The young rookie has sprayed beer on his big-league teammates twice already.

“I gave him some crap in both celebrations,” Realmuto said. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I had to wait eight years to make the playoffs. You step in for three days and you’re pitching big innings and being successful in the postseason. You’re lucky.’” (Gelb - Oct 9, 2023 - The Athletic)

2023 Phillies Most Improved Prospect: Orion Kerkering, RHP (No. 7)

College relievers taken in the fifth round don’t typically come with big expectations, but Kerkering did everything he could to be noticed as one of the top relief prospects in the game. He finished up his first full year of pro ball in the big league playoff bullpen, pitching across four levels of the system before getting called up. He brought a 1.51 ERA, .186 BAA, 0.894 WHIP, 13.2 K/9 and 14 saves with him to Philadelphia and we should be seeing him keep pitching in high leverage situations out of the Phillies’ pen. (Dykstra & Mayo - MLB.com - Dec 21, 2023)

Jan 21, 2024: Like his teammates, Orion took a break from baseball after the Phillies' season ended in October 2023. It lasted only a few days.

“I was like, I need to go do something,” Kerkering said. So he got back in the gym. Then, he started thinking about his sinker. Kerkering -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Phillies' No. 7 prospect -- used a dominant slider-fastball combination to jump four levels from Single-A Clearwater to the Phillies in only a few months in 2023.

He pitched in a postseason before he participated in his first big league Spring Training, which he'll enjoy next month. Kerkering, 22, is not guaranteed a spot on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster, but it would be absolutely surprising if he did not earn one. 

“He’s way up on my list as far as his talent level and where he stands in that bullpen,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Kerkering enjoyed successes and failures in his few weeks in the bullpen last year. He pitched well in three regular-season appearances and his first four postseason appearances before struggling in the NLCS. Kerkering said he learned from it. He hopes it makes him better. 

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” he said. “Just kind of going back and looking at old mistakes. I even go back and look at all my Minor League mistakes. It’s like, 'OK, I did it this way. I didn’t pitch that well.' Or, 'I left a pitch up.' I just look at it that way and try not to overthink it. In the moment, after the game, you go look, and your emotions are still there. But it’s always one pitch or a couple pitches that weren’t there. That’s all it was.” 

Kerkering said he hopes more emphasis and work on his sinker will help him be more effective with his slider moving right to left and his sinker moving left to right.

“Just work east and west so guys' eyes … are looking out and in,” he said. (T Zolecki - MLB.com - Jan 21, 2024) 

Kerkering's mental blunder in the bottom of the 11th cost his team the Game 4 of the NLDS and clinched the series for the Dodgers. In the moments after the loss, Kerkering did the simplest thing an athlete can do after a mistake. He owned it.

“Just a horse-s__ throw,” he said.

His clubhouse interview lasted close to two minutes. It was raw and painful, the 24-year-old Kerkering holding back tears. It also offered a straightforward lesson in accountability. 

He became only the second player in Major League Baseball history to commit an error that ended a postseason series. (In 2016, Rougned Odor's bad throw to first in Game 3 of the 2016 ALDS gave the Blue Jays a walk‑off win and a sweep of the Rangers.)

Then he had to talk about it.

“Just keep it in the back of my head: This really f—— sucks right now,” Kerkering said. “But hopefully, keep pushing. Get over this hump.” (Dodd - Oct 10, 2025 - The Athletic)

Kerkering's best pitches are his 4-seam 94-98 mph FASTBALL and a 70 grade SLIDER that 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. He also throws an average CHANGEUP His 2-seam SINKER typically sits in the mid-90s, but his slider is his most domineering pitch. Both pitches are rated by scouts as above average. (Josh Norris - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2024)

Kerkering has elite stuff, including a slider that was recognized as the best breaking pitch in the Florida State, South Atlantic and Eastern leagues in 2023 Best Tools voting. But what makes him rare is his ability to command the pitch.

He throws a fastball that averages 97.6 mph and an 87-88 mph slider with 16 to 18 inches of sweep, both for strikes. It’s that combination of command and stuff that has allowed Kerkering to rise so quickly.

2024 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: 4-seam Fastball - 97.7 mph; Sinker 15% - 96.5 mph; Slider 55.6% - 86,3 mph.

2022 Season: In his last season at the Univ. of South Florida, Kerkering posted a 5.72 ERA in 67 2/3 innings pitched. Not impressive right? What is impressive, however, is that he struck out 91 batters over that span. He ranked third in the AAC in total strike outs in 2022.

His introduction to professional baseball in 2022 was somewhat pedestrian. He pitched a total of seven innings and posted a 3.86 ERA with seven strikeouts and one walk. While the stats were not necessarily jaw-dropping, the stuff was there. (Eric Moratelli | May 7, 2023)

2023 Hottest pitching prospect in the Phillies: Orion Kerkering, RHP (No. 21)

Kerkering was recently our choice for future Phillies closer. And the Phillies might have to consider promoting the 2022 fifth-rounder soon. He’s been good all year, with five saves in the early going, and the last month has been more of the same: 1.69 ERA, 0.49 WHIP, 14/2 K/BB ratio over 10 2/3 IP. For the season, he has a .078 BAA and .045 WHIP.

 Orion Kerkering says he adheres to three rules on the mound, that he's used since high school: “Rule No. 1 is, ‘Don’t be a bitch.' Rule No. 2 is, ‘Don’t suck.’ And Rule No. 3 is, ‘Don’t break rules one and two.’” (Alex Coffey - Oct. 2023)

2023 Season: Stats: An overall 4–1 minor league record with a 1.51 ERA in 49 games (53.2 IP) with 79 strikeouts and only 12 walks. He posted a 0.89 WHIP and a .186 BAA. Average number of pitches per inning pitched was 15.24 and his strike ratio was 67 %.

Pitched in 9 games at Low A Clearwater — 0.00 ERA, 18 games at High A Jersey Shore — 1.77 ERA, 21 games at AA level Reading — 2.05 ERA and one game with AAA level Lehigh Valley before being promoted to the major leagues on 9/22/23. He appeared in three major league regular season games (3 IP) and seven playoff games (5.1 IP). (Steve Potter - Nov. 18, 2023)

2023 Notes: 1990 was the first year that the High A classification was separated and made distinct from Class A in the minor leagues. By doing so it established four levels of minor league full season classifications: Triple A, Double A, High A and Low A.

No minor league player in Phillies history had ever played at each full-season level and in the major leagues in the same season before Orion did this year. And to top it off, he also pitched in the major league playoffs.

He’s a power pitcher with a high velo four seamer (96 to 99 mph — has reached 102) and a wipeout slider. Another well regarded scout told me that Orion could pitch in the big leagues out of spring camp. He dominated hitters at every minor league level.  (Steve Potter - Nov. 18, 2023) 

Having a good season, though perhaps more under the radar has been rookie Orion Kerkering, who has a 2.51 ERA in 47 appearances with 53 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. He’s succeeded especially by limiting hard contact, holding the opposition to a 31.4 percent hard-hit rate that ranks in the 92nd percentile in the majors. Kerkering shot through the Phillies system last year, and made his MLB debut last September.  (McGrath - Aug 20, 2024 - The Athletic)

2024 Season: In his first full Major League season, he thrived, appearing in 62 games and quickly becoming an integral part of the late-game situations. He threw 63 innings with 74 strikeouts, recording a 2.29 ERA.

His advanced stats implied that his raw numbers were as good as they implied, as his FIP was 2.42 and his advanced stats were impressive. A 29.5% strikeout rate and 7.0% walk rate are both better than league average.

In addition, he limits hard contact with an average exit velocity of 86.5 mph and hard hit percentage of 33.5 are both much better than league average as well.

Able to keep the ball in the park, as he doesn’t give up fly balls and generates ground balls at a high rate, he has all of the makings of a late-game star. (Kenneth Teape - Jan. 5, 2025)

March 23-April 14, 2024: Kerkering started the season on the injured list. The young reliever had been hit with an illness earlier this month and is just now getting back into building up for the long season.