Otto Kemp spent 2½ months in the major leagues this summer with the Phillies before getting the call into manager Rob Thomson’s office that no one wants.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old was sent back down last month to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. It is the most undesirable news a major-league player can get.
Anyone who has met Kemp knows he is a quality human being, so the California native has handled it all in typical Kemp fashion.
“My biggest priorities are to get my work in and try to win a baseball game,” he said. “I try to stick to my roots here. I don’t want to be the guy who comes back and complains about everything and brings everybody down.
“A lot of guys have gone through this. It motivates you. I know what I’m capable of and what it’s like up there.”
Kemp has done well since his return to the minors, batting 353 with 14 runs, 12 RBIs and eight walks in his first 13 games back with the IronPigs through Wednesday’s game against the Toledo Mud Hens.
The Philadelphia Phillies took a flyer on Kemp by signing the undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Division II Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder hit an unspectacular .204 in his first 16 pro games that summer.
Since then, all Kemp has done is fly through the Phillies’ system and make his major-league debut before all but one (Orion Kerkering) of the 19 players the organization drafted in 2022.
Kemp debuted on June 6 after dominating Triple-A in the first two-plus months of this season. He lasted more than two months with Philadelphia before being sent down last month to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Despite a whirlwind career to this point, Kemp has remained unfazed and unchanged in his approach. His diligence and determination in everything he does from the moment he shows up until he leaves is obvious.
His genuine personality also oozes through every word and action since his return to the minors.
“I was excited to see everybody I started the year off with,” he said. “I also was reflective about how I thought it went up there, what I learned. It set myself up for what I am trying to accomplish the next couple weeks. I want to make sure I’m setting myself up to have success here, continue to work on all that I learned while I was up in the big leagues.”
Kemp has gotten this far because of his willingness to work and adjust on the go. He’s learned new positions, become better at adjusting to how pitchers are trying to get him out and never quit on himself.
It has not gone unnoticed by those in the organization, evidenced by Kemp not repeating any level.
“He’s an undrafted player who has worked his whole life to get where he’s at,” Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly said. “He’s never been handed anything. And, yeah, he continues to get better every year, whether it’s defensively, offensively, base running. It’s a testament to him, to our scouts who found him.”
Kemp has helped himself by always being able to read the situation. His time in Philadelphia was evidence of that.
He didn’t jump into conversations or run down veterans and ambush them with question after question.
Instead, he watched, listened and waited.
“I accepted my rookie role and stayed out of way,” Kemp said, “but I have the right to listen to whatever. Once I was a little bit more comfortable, I’d say, ‘I heard this,’ or ‘What about this?’
“It was certain things with certain guys. Timing was a big part of it, having a feel for when guys are working and when they are able to talk.”
Kemp also has been gifted with perspective. He understands the opportunity he’s been given to play a game he loves.
The utility player values every day he gets to put on a uniform. He does not pressure himself into stressful mental situations away from the ballpark or worse in the batter’s box.
“Every day I’m getting paid to play baseball is a privilege,” he said. “I’m still in a great spot. I don’t want to think about what’s next. There’s no end to that thinking. There’s no certainty. I just stick to what I can control.”
Kemp likely won’t make it back to Philadelphia this season unless there is an injury. The Phillies called up catcher Garrett Stubbs and signed Upper Perkiomen graduate Tim Mayza after the Pirates released the left-handed reliever.
That has not altered Kemp’s process. That is evident by his performance since returning to the IronPigs and demeanor.
“I don’t want Otto Kemp to be the International League MVP,” IronPigs teammate Christian Arroyo said. “I want him to be in the major leagues.”
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
Source: Berkshire mont