CLEARWATER, Fla. — Spring training in Clearwater feels a little like home for Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering.
“It kind of helps not to move far for spring training,” Kerkering said. “I get to go home whenever I want. Seeing similar faces at USF this past year, work out a little bit, I saw the new coach.”
Kerkering attended Venice High School and pitched at the University of South Florida. Philadelphia drafted him in the 5th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.
This season, the Phillies are banking on him to have a big role in the back end of their bullpen.
“No pressure at all. It’s the same three outs every time I go out there,” he said. “No matter what inning it is I think they’re all super important.”
Kerkering’s surface numbers weren’t exactly eye-popping at USF with an earned run average of 4.79. Fast forward to last season — his first full season in the big leagues. Kerkering had a 5-3 record with the Phillies and a 2.29 ERA.
“Stats weren’t always the best record-wise,” Kerkering said. “I was stressing too much then, trying to push myself too hard. But it’s just trying to believe in what people think about me. What they see in me, and what I can do. Just keep riding in what they believe in and what they have to say.”
Much of his success and rapid rise through the minor leagues is credited to one pitch: the sweeper, which has horizontal movement.
“High school, for sure, is where it started,” he said.
"It wasn’t as hard as it is now. But just being able to improve on it. I think in the big leagues I open it up a little bit more, how I can use it better against righties and lefties in situations and how to use it properly.”
