DENVER — The Phillies challenged Orion Kerkering on Friday night in Colorado. Leading by a run in the bottom of the sixth, manager Rob Thomson summoned the 23-year-old to pitch his way out of two-on, one-out traffic.
Kerkering was being called into a dirty inning for just the third time in his MLB career. The first time, in Game 4 of the 2023 NLCS, two walks to begin his appearance forced in a run. The second time, April 29 in Anaheim, each of the two runners he inherited scored.
Friday wasn’t an “empty the clip” spot, either — or at least, it didn’t turn out that way. The Phillies kept Kerkering on for a wraparound inning, asking him to record five outs for just the seventh time in his professional career.
He passed both tests with flying colors.
In fact, he did it on a quick and easy 14 pitches: four in the sixth to escape the jam on two groundouts, 10 to fire a scoreless seventh despite a one-out double.
After ending last season on a tough note by hitting a wall in that NLCS, barely a month removed from Double-A, and missing the first two weeks of the 2024 regular season with a right forearm strain, Kerkering has hit the ground running in his sophomore year. His ERA this season is 1.65. His WHIP is 0.92.
“I think just being ready every single day,” Kerkering told Phillies Nation about what he credits for his early success in 2024, despite his late start. “Just not overthinking every process, because everything’s happening for a reason. So I think just being able to go every single day, no matter if it’s the rehab assignment or if you’re headed to Triple-A, or wherever it was, I think it just matters just being able to go every day and just being ready for your name to get called.”
Last year was a whirlwind for Kerkering. Even the most accomplished players in the sport can’t say they’ve climbed from Single-A to MLB within a season.
His role coming into 2024 was a lot more set. If he wasn’t a lock to make the Phillies’ bullpen on Opening Day, he was the next closest thing.
You’d think that would make a pitcher’s job easier — knowing his role is established, not having to relocate four separate times over four-and-a-half months. But for Kerkering, he said his approach last year was the same regardless of the situation: Try to win a game, keep it close, don’t allow a run, all the rest.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment didn’t happen on his way to the bigs; it happened once he got there.
“I think it’s something to get used to — between the minor leagues, you travel a little bit less than the big leagues,” Kerkering said. “All these flights and stuff like that, going across the country. So I think that’s my real time to really learn, kind of adjust that way.”
In the minors, too, Kerkering pointed out, a pitcher’s schedule is largely predetermined: He knows when he’s going to throw, for the most part. It’s probably especially true for the upper-level prospects in the organization, which Kerkering was.
“Now, it’s just kinda getting used to being ready to go every single day,” he said. “Just kind of prep your body as much as you can and overdo it at times, and underdo it sometimes. That way you’re ready to go every single day.”
Part of Kerkering’s success this year has come via his fastball. He’s thrown his four- or two-seamer 39.9% of the time, with 60.1% sweepers, compared to 15% and 85%, respectively, last year.
He’s using it not just as a “show-me” offering to set up the sweeper, which was one of the best pitches in the minor leagues last season and earned an 80/80 grade as a prospect, but as a putaway pitch, too.
All three of Kerkering’s strikeouts on May 16 came via fastball. He threw five two-strike fastballs on May 18 and six on May 22. He threw two on Friday, but only two counts got that far in the first place.
“I think it’s just a work in progress,” Kerkering said of using the fastball to put hitters away. “Just trying to get more comfortable with it. So these last couple outings have been super helpful with it.”
The more comfortable he gets with it, the more you’ll see results like the ones you’ve seen early in the 2024 season. Perhaps the Phillies start to lean on him more in dirty innings and wraparound outings as well. At this point, it’s hard to doubt his ability to adapt.
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