It’s not unprecedented, but it’s incredibly rare for a pitcher to climb through all four levels in the minors and make his MLB debut just a little over a year after being drafted. However, that’s exactly what Orion Kerkering did in 2023.
Drafted in June of 2022, Kerkering started the season with Single-A Clearwater. He didn’t stay there long, though, and was promoted to High-A Jersey Shore after just nine appearances. 18 games later he made the jump to Double-A Redding where he made 21 appearances. Then, he took on Triple-A competition in Lehigh Valley for one scoreless inning before the end of the Minor League season.