Orion Kerkering was probably the biggest story from the end of the 2025 season. His gaffe that sealed the Phillies’ elimination at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLDS loomed like a specter over the entire offseason. But as we sit in May 2026, Kerkering has been in the background amid the team’s early struggles and feels as though he’s a forgotten man in the discussion at this point.
An injury in early spring training delayed Kerkering’s season debut until shortly after Opening Day, but he’s been
quietly effective in his limited work. He’s appeared in 14 games entering play on Thursday and owns a 2.08 ERA through 13 innings pitched. Kerkering has collected nine strikeouts but also has six walks and surrendered nine hits including a home run. His underlying metrics paint a good picture, as his xERA of 2.01 is currently in the 97th percentile of all pitchers. Meanwhile, his expected batting average of .142 and average exit velocity of 80.5 MPH are among the best in all of baseball.
Despite his strong quality of contact numbers, Kerkering has once again struggled to generate swings and misses. He finished 2025 with a 24.4% strikeout rate that was only slightly above average and felt lacking considering the stuff Kerkering possesses. His whiff rate of 23.3% was well below league average and is down to 19.8% in the early going of 2026. He has however begun to experiment with throwing a splitter, a pitch he never utilized in the past. It’s only been thrown ten times, nine of which were to lefties, but Kerkering’s splitter has already generated six whiffs. The high number of walks in 2026 isn’t new either, as his 10.2% walk rate in 2025 was the highest among qualified relievers in the Phillies bullpen.
So, what do you make of Orion Kerkering’s season so far? Do you feel as though his error to end last season still lingers in his head? Or do you think he’s put it behind him?
