Phillies select Orion Kerkering in the 5th Round of the 2022 Draft

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In the 5th round, the Phillies take their second college pitcher in a row in South Florida’s Orion Kerkering.

Kerkering is a 6’2″ righty who moved from two years in the bullpen into the starting rotation and then back to the bullpen for the Bulls. His overall numbers weren’t great with a 5.72 ERA, but he struck out 91 with 19 walks in 67.2 innings. He has average fastball velocity, sitting around 93 and touching 97, but the big selling point is a high spin slider that is his primary bat misser. He has a changeup, but it lags his other pitches. To be a starter it feels like you need to get more out of his fastball and changeup, otherwise he looks to be a reliever. In a bullpen he would be a secondary pitch primary style reliever leaning on his slider. I would expect the Phillies to give the rotation role a try first given where they took him.