The MLB Draft is a little more than a month away. For Otto Kemp, Draft Day in 2022 was not a good day. He knew he wasn’t going to be a high draft pick, but a couple of teams had given him every indication that they would be taking him at some point. The Phillies were one of those teams, but every time their turn to pick came around, Kemp heard somebody else’s name instead of his. Finally, the Phillies – and every other team – had completed their draft and Kemp was now an unemployed college graduate.

For the Phillies and Kemp, it all did work out, but the team had Kemp pretty worried for a while. The Phillies signed Kemp as an undrafted free agent and he took off for Clearwater to start his professional career.

Kemp was having the type of season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley that is hard for a front office to ignore, especially when their offense is in the tank and their top hitter lands on the IL. Kemp got the call to fly from Charlotte, NC where the Phillies were playing to Pittsburgh to join the Phillies late Friday night. At the time, Kemp led the International League with 55 RBI and 34 extra base hits and was second in runs scored with 49. The righty hitter was also third in total bases (133), fourth in OPS (1.010) and doubles (19), fifth in home runs (14), slugging (.594), and hits (70).

Kemp had no idea he was headed for the majors until 11:00 p.m. Friday night when a knock came at his hotel door. When he opened the door, he saw Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras, bench coach Chris Adamson, and hitting coach Adam Lind all standing there. It didn’t take a baseball genius for Kemp to know that something was up. Kemp’s dog Beau was actually the first to the door and Kemp’s wife Lily was also in the hotel room, so he knew they were both okay. It was three baseball guys and Kemp was having too good of a season to be getting released, so his mind wandered to either being traded, or…

The trio of coaches gave Kemp the good news and the whirlwind started. A quick call to his parents in California got them looking for flights to Pittsburgh, with only a red-eye getting them there in time for the Saturday game. Kemp was going to be on a 7 a.m. flight Saturday morning to join the Phillies, and his wife, who serves as Beau’s chauffer, was set for an early morning drive to Pittsburgh. “I only stopped once at a 7-11 to get some coffee,” Lily told Paul Cassella of MLB.com of her jaunt from Charlotte. “I just sat in the car with my dog for a minute and I was like, ‘Holy [cow], this is happening. I’m just so proud of him.”

What to expect from Otto Kemp

Some fans were clamoring for Kemp to join the Phillies earlier in the season. The truth is that he was simply not ready, and likely still is not ready, to play at the major league level. Kemp has played the equivalent of only about a half season at Triple-A between last season and this season and last season, he hit just .200 in 45 at-bats with Lehigh Valley. Granted, a trip to the Arizona Fall League helped fine tune him, but Kemp is still a little green. Keep in mind that he played college ball at Point Loma Nazareth College, not exactly a hot bed for developing baseball players. Keep in mind that the 25-year-old went undrafted and is only in his third full season of minor league ball.

Kemp has played primarily at third- 36 games – this season, but has also played 12 games at first, 11 at second, and seven in left field. Kemp is not a Gold Glove candidate with six errors in 289 innings and a .912 fielding percentage – .950 to .975 is generally considered average in the majors – at third base, but he will come up with some strong defensive plays from time to time. He’s got good baseball instincts, but just needs more time on the field.

Offensively, Kemp is a career .272 hitter in the minors, and his 14 home runs this season are close to his career-high of 16 which he accomplished last season when he played at Low-A Clearwater, High-A Jersey Shore, Double-A Reading, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Don’t look for Kemp’s name to be among league leaders in stolen bases, but he has some speed and can steal a bag every now and then, having swiped 21 bases between Clearwater and Jersey Shore in 2023, 20 bases in his tour of the minor league system last season, and had 11 with Lehigh Valley this season before having his contract purchased.

It’s interesting that Rob Thomson has put him into the lineup in each of his two days in the majors and is not letting him languish on the bench like young players sometimes do. At this point in his career, Kemp needs consistent at-bats even if some of them are against pitchers like Paul Skenes, who the Phillies faced on Sunday.

The youngster is 0-for-5 with a walk in his two games, but cut the kid some slack. It’s hard to imagine him getting much sleep after that late knock at his door Friday and even Saturday night might have been a little restless considering the guy had just played his first major league game and had his whole family in town to witness it all. The Phillies return to Philly to face the Cubs Monday. It will be interesting to see if Kemp stays in the lineup. At the very least, a week “at home” will allow him to settle in a little and learn the routine.