Former Venice High pitcher Orion Kerkering taken in 5th round of MLB Draft

VENICE – Orion Kerkering was sitting at home watching the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on his computer when his agent called.

Danny Horwitz had some news.

The Philadelphia Phillies informed Horwitz that Kerkering would be selected in the fifth round.

"It was just a moment I've been waiting for my whole life," Kerkering said. "That first call. Just being able to say I'm ready to go."

More: Kerkering develops into a major-league prospect at USF

Moments later, Kerkering saw it on his computer in front of the Phillies logo: Kerkering, Orion South Florida (FL) USA P R/R 4YR JR

"I thought that was pretty cool," he said. "Right when we ended that call my name popped up."

Kerkering was the 152nd player taken in the draft.

“It’s awesome,” Venice High coach Craig Faulkner said.

Always in need of pitching, especially relief pitching, the Phillies were one of the teams that made contact with Kerkering during the fall and his past season with the Bulls.

"One of their head guys gave me a call and said, 'Are you ready to go?' " Kerkering said of the Phillies. "I was like absolutely. Hopefully, it's a fast track for me to be able to get up there in the next few years and just to be able to stay up there for a long time."

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound right-hander played three seasons for the Bulls, going 10-11 with a 4.79 earned run average in 52 appearances, 11 starts. He fanned 167 in 129 ⅔ innings and saved nine games.

“His velocity just skyrocketed after his first year of college,” Faulkner said.

At Venice, Faulkner said Kerkering was in the 87- to 88-mile-per-hour range. “Occasionally, you would hear he hit 90 maybe once in a while,” Faulkner said. “But throwing as hard as he is throwing now is hard to even imagine for me. The thing he had was great command.”

Kerkering was aware of the success other USF pitchers had while playing for the Bulls. Another former USF pitcher Shane McClanahan, now of the Tampa Bay Rays, started the All-Star Game for the American League on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

“Once I heard USF and what they did for their guys and how it was going for them, it was a no-brainer,” Kerkering said on his decision to attend USF in Tampa.

He was a two-time state champion during his two varsity seasons at Venice High, Kerkering recorded 214 strikeouts while posting a 1.05 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .157 average. As a senior, he went 5-1 with a 1.41 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 39 innings.

“He was a guy who had great command of his fastball and slider,” Faulkner said. “His slider was good and he had good control of it.”

The 21-year-old Kerkering was the 204th-ranked prospect in the 2022 draft by mlb.com. The 152nd slot carries an approximate $368,100 pick value.

"Some guys get higher up, like myself, and some guys get a lot lower," Kerkering said. "The nice part about the draft is you never fully know when you're going to get selected. Everyone has something different on their draft board."

Kerkering watched the first night of the draft Sunday, when the first two rounds were held.

"I wasn't so anxious today," he said. "I was just ready to go. Kinda waiting for that call."

And now that the call came, it looks like full steam ahead to the Phillies, who train at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, not far from the USF campus or Venice.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Kerkering, who said the Phillies will contact him in a day or two to set up a face-to-face meeting.

Attended the Major League Baseball Draft Combine last month at Petco Park in San Diego. In his short bullpen session, he recorded the third-highest spin rate on his breaking ball at 2,985 and five of the top eight top spin rates.

“He’s going to have a great career professionally,” Faulkner said. “He’s only gonna get stronger. Who knows what his velocity will end up at. It’ll be interesting to see. It’s really a great story: Seeing him develop and go to USF and just blossoming like that.”

Kerkering joins another former Venice High standout in the Philadelphia organization.

Dalton Guthrie was a sixth-round pick, 173rd overall, by the Phillies in the 2017 draft. The son of former major league pitcher Mark Guthrie, Dalton is hitting .279 for Philadelphia’s Triple A affiliate Lehigh Valley in 61 games this season.

Here is what mlb.com said about Kerkering entering the draft: A bit of a late bloomer, Kerkering didn’t make his Venice High School varsity team until his junior year but then helped the Florida power win back-to-back state championships as a starter. He began his career at South Florida as a reliever, scuffling a bit initially in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then thriving as the Bulls’ closer in 2021. He moved into the Friday night starter role and opened a lot of eyes early, but after struggling, he has largely been back in a reliever role since late April. Always pitching from the stretch, Kerkering does have three pitches in his arsenal. The 6-foot-2 right-hander tops out at 97 mph with his fastball, especially in shorter stints, and has averaged around 93 mph. He hasn’t always commanded it well and it’s been squared up more than it should. His best pitch is his slider, a sharp 83-85 mph breaker that flashes plus and can be a nasty strikeout pitch at times. His mid-80s changeup isn’t as good, but it does offer some fade away from left-handed hitters. Kerkering does a nice job of hiding the ball and creating some deception with his delivery. And while his overall command needs to improve, he’s done a better job of finding the strike zone than he did in 2021. A team taking him at some point on Day 2 of the Draft might want to give him a chance to start, but there’s a pretty good chance he lands in a bullpen, where that slider could really play.

Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing. 

Follow @maffsports on Twitter

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Former Venice High pitcher Orion Kerkering taken in 5th round of MLB Draft