Orion Kerkering
2026Grade
A blend of skills without one defining trait.
Kerkering sits right around league average
The simulator expects 0.447 bases allowed per batter faced against him — better than 60th percentile of qualified pitchers. His standout tool is Quiet Contact (95th percentile). The soft spot is Command (22nd percentile). Short relief stints inflate strikeout rates a touch, so read the Strikeouts spoke with that in mind.
224 batters faced · data through 2026-08-22.
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Plays like…
Same archetype, nearest by rate — pick one to see him side by side with Orion Kerkering.
Pitcher type
Pitcher type
Where he sits among qualified pitchers on the two skills that separate styles.
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| Orion Kerkering | League median | Percentile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bases per ball in play(lower = better) | .433 | .528 | 60th |
| Walk rate(lower = better) | 11% | 9% | 22nd |
| Strikeout rate(higher = better) | 23% | 22% | 74th |
100th percentile = best in MLB.
Arsenal
Orion Kerkering mixes his sweeper (44%) and four-seam fastball (33%). His best pitch has been the sinker, saving 3.7 bases per 100 thrown vs average, and his sweeper runs 3.6 mph above the league norm.
Pitch mix & swing-and-miss
allowed 84 bases vs a replacement arm's 115 over the same batters faced
Replacement level is per-batter and can't be split by pitch type, so the bars below use league average.
12.0 bases saved vs league average, across 930 pitches — 1.3 per 100.
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Mix by batter side
Compared with the league, his four-seam fastball tilts 23 points more toward lefties.
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Orion Kerkering's pitch movement, 2026
His Splitter has moved 2+ inches from its early-season shape; his other 3 have not.
Compared with his own earlier outings this season, not with other pitchers — and after taking out the drift every pitch in the league shows through midsummer.
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By appearance
One point per outing — how his velocity, movement, and pitch mix have moved across the season, with league context for scale. Each pitch keeps the same color in every chart.
Platoon splits
Platoon splits (EB/PA allowed)
Better vs RHB than vs LHB by 0.041 EB/PA allowed (modeled).
50% probable range: +0.033 to +0.049
vs LHB: shrunk estimate 0.472 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.451 to 0.491, based on 106 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.464 EB/PA. League median vs LHB: 0.454 EB/PA.
vs RHB: shrunk estimate 0.431 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.410 to 0.450, based on 119 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.342 EB/PA. League median vs RHB: 0.440 EB/PA.
Raw vs RHB rate (0.342) is off this scale — small samples like this are exactly why the shrunk estimate (the dot) is the trustworthy number, not the raw one.
About the typical split for a righty arm (median 0.040). Against lefty bats he allows more than the league median — a genuine platoon vulnerability.
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- Tap or hover any mark for its number, or tab to a row for all of them.
- His raw rate is the unshrunk number against that side — small samples make it noisy, which is why the model pulls his estimate toward a more trustworthy value.
- “Middle half of the league” is the 25th–75th percentile of all pitchers against that side.
- These are bases allowed, so lower is better. Weighted by how often he faces each side, the two splits average back to his modeled overall EB/PA allowed — not the xEB/PA headline at the top of the page, which folds in strikeouts and walks differently.
- Shrunk splits beat raw splits on held-out seasons, most decisively at low batters-faced counts (relievers especially), and converge with the raw numbers as exposure builds.
Contact allowed
Batters go up the middle off him most often, but the hardest contact goes to the pull side.
Pull and oppo are relative to each batter's stance, so this pools all the hitters he faced.
Batted balls allowed
Luck check
Escaped damage 2 times — crushed balls the simulator scores as near-certain hits that died in gloves behind him.
Burned 5 times — balls with a hit probability under 20% that found grass anyway.
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Earned vs. actual
Results have matched the contact quality — batters have been credited about what they earned off Orion Kerkering.
over 136 balls in play · walks and strikeouts excluded on both sides
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ERA 3.53 · WHIP 1.24 · BABIP against 0.256 (Lg median 0.286)
Best games
Best games
His best outings this season by bases saved vs a replacement arm.
- vs CubsApr 13, 2026
5 BF · 3 K, 1 H
- Bases allowed
- 0.4
- Above replacement
- +2.2
- vs Blue JaysJun 9, 2026
4 BF · 2 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.2
- Above replacement
- +1.9
- vs GuardiansMay 23, 2026
3 BF · 2 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.0
- Above replacement
- +1.5
- vs GiantsApr 28, 2026
3 BF · 2 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.1
- Above replacement
- +1.5
- vs RoyalsJul 4, 2026
3 BF · 2 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.1
- Above replacement
- +1.5
Trends
Multi-season trends · Orion Kerkering
HR allowed% down, BB% up, GB% against down, FB% against up vs last season
Actual rates — what happened on the field, season by season.