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.
Orion Kerkering, Disgusting Breaking Balls. 🤮
He's more than a Star…he's an entire freakin' constellation. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/R1Kxf0iDh1
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 26, 2022