Phillies Pitcher Orion Kerkering Lands on MLB All-Under-25 Team

While the Phillies top pitching prospects are generally thought to be Andrew Painter (20), Mick Abel (22) and Griff McGarry (24), there is one other pitcher in the organization who has caught the attention of The Athletics MLB All-Under-25 team entering the 2024 season.

The Athletic put together a roster of one player from every position, a starting rotation and a bullpen comprising of players under the age of 25 with one Phillies pitcher landing on the list.

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22-year old Orion Kerkering, who had a cup of coffee with the Phillies last season. He opened eyes with six strikeouts in his three innings of work before landing in the teams bullpen during their playoff run.

Orion Kerkering has more innings pitched in the MLB postseason (5 1/3) than in the regular season (3). The Phillies’ fifth-round pick in 2022, Kerkering zoomed to the majors thanks in large part to the sweeper he’s thrown about 80 percent of the time so far in his brief MLB stint. He’ll be a fixture in the Phillies bullpen for the foreseeable future — likely a back-end arm in the All-Under-25 bullpen for the next two years, too.

This season, I have big expectations for Kerkering, and expect him to be the teams closer by seasons end. He might have the best stuff of any pitcher on the staff and could get some high leverage situations early in the season.

One other player under 25 that got an honorable mention was center fielder Johan Rojas, who played a key role on the Phillies during the second-half of the 2023 season.

The 23-year old hit 302/.342/.430 with two home runs, 14 stolen bases, 24 runs scored, and 23 RBI in 59 game, while playing exceptional defense in center field.