TAMPA (October 6, 2023) – Former University of South Florida Bull Orion Kerkering has experienced a whirlwind two weeks, with its most recent peak coming on Wednesday night when the right-hander made his MLB Playoff debut with a scoreless inning as the Philadelphia Phillies swept the Miami Marlins in the National League Wild Card.
Kerkering needed just nine pitches to post a 1-2-3 relief appearance in the eighth inning of Philadelphia's 7-1 victory.
On September 22, Kerkering was named the recipient of the 2023 Paul Owens Award, presented annually to the Phillies' top minor league pitcher. Later that day he was called up from Triple-A to Philadelphia. He made his Major League debut on September 24 in front of friends and family against the New York Mets with a scoreless frame and two strikeouts. In his next appearance, two games later on September 27, Kerkering earned his first MLB win logging a scoreless seventh inning with a pair of punchouts.
The last two weeks have been a microcosm of the last 15 months for Kekering. Selected in the fifth round by Philadelphia in the 2022 MLB Draft, the 22-year-old began the 2023 season at Low-A Clearwater before earning promotions to High-A Jersey Shore, Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley on September 18th.
Since 1992, according to research by Stats Perform, the only player to pitch in Low A, High A, Double A and Triple A in the same season as pitching in the MLB postseason was the Yankees' Jose Contreras in 2003. Contreras was 31 that year.
Kerkering is the first Phillies player to make his big-league debut the year after being drafted since Aaron Nola in 2015. The last Phillies pitcher to make his MLB debut in September and appear in that year's postseason was Marty Bystrom in 1980.
Kerkering is one of seven former South Florid Bulls coached by Billy Mohl to reach the Major Leagues. He joins Shane McClanahan, Peter Strzelecki, Jimmy Herget, Coco Montes, David Villar and Phoenix Sanders.
The Venice, Florida native pitched at South Florida from 2020-22 and was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Kerkering spent his first two seasons at USF in the bullpen before splitting time in 2022 between the starting rotation and closer role. His wipe-out slider and power arm paid huge dividends for the Bulls in 2021 as the team won the American Athletic Conference Tournament, the Gainesville Regional and advanced to the program's first-ever NCAA Super Regional.
During his rapid rise through the Minor Leagues in 2023, Kerkering logged 49 relief appearances across those stops this season with a 4-1 record, 14 saves, a 1.51 ERA (9 ER/53.2 IP) and a 0.89 WHIP. He struck out 79 batters and issued just 12 walks while holding opposing hitters to a .186 batting average (36-for-194).
Kerkering, who was promoted to Triple-A on September 18 and earned the win on Wednesday in his first appearance, was striking out 13.25 batters per 9.0 innings pitched and had a 38.0 percent strikeout rate compared to a 5.8 percent walk rate. Among minor league pitchers who had thrown at least 50.0 innings, he allowed the fewest number of runs (9), ranked fourth in ERA and tied for fourth in WHIP. After being promoted to Double-A on July 6, Kerkering was tied for first in the Eastern League in saves with seven. The Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April, Kerkering struck out a career-high five batters on Sept. 13 at Binghamton. Overall, 43 of his 49 outings have been scoreless and he has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances. Kerkering is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Phillies organization by MLB.com.
"Orion's performance speaks for itself, but this award was won in the offseason with hard work," said Preston Mattingly, Phillies director of player development. "Orion committed to improving all aspects of his game and it led to success and stops at all four affiliates. We are proud of the leader he has become and look forward to the bright future ahead."
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 59th season in 2024 under head coach Billy Mohl (seventh season). The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 19 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Eric Snow in 2023. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program's first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
– #GoBulls –
