Philadelphia Phillies Relief Pitcher Orion Kerkering Named Top Rookie of 2024

Orion Kerkering had a great rookie campaign for the Philadelphia Phillies

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) pitches in the sixth inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies saw their season come to an end much sooner than expected in October, as they were upset in the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. 

Coming into fall, the Phillies were hoping to be World Series contenders, as their roster was very strong from top to bottom. Even though it was a good season for Philadelphia, this is an organization that has World Series or bust expectations. 

As they head into the offseason, the Phillies will be trying to figure out what went wrong in October and make the necessary changes. The franchise isn’t afraid to spend money, and they also have a pretty good farm system, as all options will be on the table. 

One area that they might look to improve upon is in the bullpen. During the regular season, Philadelphia had a really strong bullpen, but they were unfortunately let down in October. 

A key contributor for them out of the bullpen this season was relief pitcher Orion Kerkering. The young right-hander came up at the end of last season, but he played a prominent role in the bullpen this campaign. Considering he only pitched in three games last year, he kept his rookie status for 2024. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently named his Top-50 rookies of 2024, and Kerkering came in ranked 24th. 

“Kerkering made his MLB debut as a September call-up in 2023 and pitched well enough to earn a spot on the playoff roster, ultimately making more appearances in the playoffs (7) than he did during the regular season (3). He was a full-fledged member of the relief corps in 2024 and was lights-out with a 2.29 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 while tallying 14 holds in 64 appearances.”

During the regular season, the young pitcher was superb, as he totaled a 2.29 ERA in 63 innings pitched. He was one of the reasons why Philadelphia had a nice turnaround in the bullpen. 

Even though the bullpen was an issue in the postseason, Kerkering was one of the few pitchers who didn’t struggle, as he only allowed one run in 3.2 innings pitched. 

As the franchise looks ahead, Kerkering will likely continue to see his role in relief increase, as he had a great rookie season. While the unit might have been the reason why Philadelphia lost to the Mets, it was no fault of the young right-hander who had a great season.