Otto Kemp is lighting up the International League. (Cheryl Pursell)
As Otto Kemp has quickly become known to do in the Lehigh Valley, the surging minor leaguer came through with his power once again on Sunday.
Down one run in the bottom of the eighth inning, he lined an opposite-field home run to right to tie the game and set the table for an IronPigs comeback. Lehigh Valley later downed Columbus, 3-2, while Kemp’s bat played a key role.
Kemp, a 25-year-old former undrafted free agent, has dominated to start the Triple-A season for the IronPigs. After turning heads as he climbed the levels of the Phillies’ system last year, the right-hander hitter has followed it up with a scorching month of April.
In 26 games, Kemp is batting .313/.415/.657 with offensive stats that rank among the best in the minors; he’s tied for second in the International League in home runs with seven, tied for second in RBIs (21), second in runs scored (22), second in hits (31), second in doubles (11) and fourth in OPS (1.072). While it’s early, those are numbers that can’t be ignored.
Signed out of Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego in 2022, Kemp has gone from an afterthought to one of the best performers in the Phillies organization. While he’s still not a huge prospect, he’s done nothing but show that he can hit since the start of last season and has only continued to do so.
Kemp hasn’t exactly found a position in the field to call home as a professional. He’s played most of his games at third, also seeing time at first and second base and in the outfield this year. His recent run in left field is notable, even as Weston Wilson has returned to the big leagues. The Phillies could use some more right-handedness at times, and the outfield seems like the place to mix it in.
The defensive fit is a bit of a question, and there’s a chance Kemp will cool off as the season goes on. But he’s put himself in a good position for a potential promotion if the team needs to dip into its depth for some help on the bench or in the lineup. He’s a bat-first righty, and he’s hitting the ball extremely well. That could play on Philadelphia’s roster at some point.
