Phillies To Promote Top Prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies have just one week of minor league baseball left, but they’re making one more move to get some of their top prospects some additional action.

On Sunday the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the team is set to promote four pitchers from Double-A Reading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the final week of the regular season.

The IronPigs have one final homestand with Worcester this week. They are trying to win the second half of the International League season and make the playoffs.

The four pitchers set to be promoted are right-hander Orion Kerkering, right-hander Mick Abel, right-hander McKinley Moore and left-hander David Parkinson.

Kerkering and Abel are two of the Top 10 prospects in the organization, with Abel at No. 2 and Kerkering at No. 9.

Abel is a pitcher the Phillies are hopeful can help them next season, especially after losing their No. 1 prospect, Andrew Painter, for all of 2024 to recovery from Tommy John surgery. Abel is 5-5 with a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts this season. He has 126 strikeouts and 62 walks in 108.2 innings which matches his career high in innings from 2022.

Kerkering has been a workhorse as a reliever and will pitch for his fourth different Phillies affiliate this season when he joins the IronPigs. He is 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA in 48 games with 14 saves and four holds. He has 78 strikeouts and 12 walks in 52.2 innings.

McKinley pitched three games with the Phillies earlier this season, but he has spent the bulk of the season in the minors, where he is 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA in 19 games (all in relief). He has five holds, 35 strikeouts and 22 walks in 19.1 innings.

Parkinson pitched one game for Lehigh Valley in June, but he returns to the Iron Pigs for the final week. He is 9-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 25 games (22 starts). He has 135 strikeouts and 54 walks in 130.1 innings, which is a career high as a pro.

The IronPigs’ final home series starts on Tuesday.