The Philadelphia Phillies are closing in on another successful regular season.
Their magic number to clinch the first Wild Card spot is six.
This means they need a combination of their wins and Arizona Diamondbacks losses to equal six.
Currently, the Phillies have a three-game lead over Arizona for the top Wild Card spot.
Winning that spot will give the Phillies home-field advantage in the first round.
The Phillies are hoping to put their best roster on the field come playoff time.
One player they think can help them is Orion Kerkering.
According to Matt Gelb, Kerkering has been called up to the majors.
Sources: The Phillies are promoting Orion Kerkering to the majors today. The hard-throwing righty reliever started the season at Low-A Clearwater and now he's in the bigs. They'll see what he's got.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 22, 2023
He was their fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Kerkering has flown through the minor leagues this year.
He started the season in Low-A Clearwater, and he proceeded to move up three more levels before reaching the big leagues.
The Phillies will be the fifth team Kerkering has pitched for this season.
The 22-year-old has thrown 60.2 innings this season.
He carries an ERA of 1.78 while striking out 86 batters in that span.
It will be interesting to see what his role is with the Phillies and if they want to use him on their postseason roster.
The Phillies know they can use bullpen help, and Kerkering has shown to have an electric arm.
It is worth a shot to see what the kid has over the last week of the season.
The Phillies still have important games to play this year and Kerkering can help them.
NEXT: Phillies Insider Highlights A Craig Kimbrel Concern
