Philadelphia Phillies Star Pitcher Highlighted As Best Young Reliever in Baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies have the best young relief pitcher in baseball coming out of their bullpen.

Jul 19, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have nearly the entire core from their 95-win, National League East title squad from 2024 returning to the mix in 2025.

Their bullpen is the only part of the roster that has undergone much of a change since Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez departed in free agency, signing deals with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.

To help offset those losses, the team signed former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano and brought in swingman Joe Ross.

It remains to be seen if enough was done to replace the players who left.

Romano is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 but was among the best closers in baseball the years prior, something they need him to be during this upcoming campaign.

One player who the Phillies are going to be relying upon to have a more prominent role at the end of games is Orion Kerkering.

Turning only 24 years old in April, he was a no-brainer selection by Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic (subscription required) for the MLB All-Under-25 Team heading into the 2025 campaign.

This is the second consecutive year that Kerkering made the cut, as he was part of the 2024 squad after throwing only three innings in 2023.

He proved Nesbitt correct, putting together a dominant rookie season.

Kerkering made 64 appearances, throwing 63.0 innings with a strong 2.29 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 2024. He was as dominant as the raw stats would suggest since he also recorded a 2.42 FIP and is on the right side of all the advanced stats like average exit velocity allowed and hard-hit percentage.

His 1.5 FWAR is the best amongst the relief pitchers who joined him on the All-Under-25 team.

What will Kerkering have in store for an encore?

Expect him to factor into the mix for some saves in 2025 despite not recording one yet in his career. Manager Rob Thomson doesn’t use traditional roles in his bullpen, playing matchups throughout the game instead. 

But, it will be safe to assume Kerkering will be in the late-game mix more often to offset the losses of Hoffman and Estevez.

Even if he isn’t deployed as a traditional closer in Philadelphia, he has all of the tools to succeed late in games.

He has devastating stuff, elite velocity numbers and excellent command of all his pitches.

His best pitch, a sweeper, should only get better as he gains more experience and learns how to work off of it even more. 

Big things are on the horizon for Kerkering, as he looks capable of replicating the All-Star production Hoffman has provided in a versatile role the last two years.