Phillies Should Give Kemp a Look Before the Deadline

The Phillies are a bit of a funk. The Phillies lost a series finale to the Atlanta Braves, before being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.  Then they lost two of three in Toronto, before losing the series opener in Pittsburgh. It's time for the Phillies to start to address some of the holes on their roster, especially with the trade deadline next month.

One way to approach the trade deadline is to see what they have in-house before hitting the open market.  That market has not opened yet, as there are many teams in major league baseball not willing to throw in the towel.  A team even three or four games below the .500 mark could have a good week and be back "in it".

Therefore, while the market is figuring itself out, the Phillies can begin to figure themselves out by looking into the mirror.  And their farm system.

The farm system features at Triple-A Lehigh Valley a utility player who has been tearing the cover off of the ball.   That would be right-handed bat Otto Kemp.

In a large sample size of 244 at bats, Kemp is batting .313, with 14 home runs and 55 runs batted in.  He has 19 doubles and a triple, with an OPS of 1.010.

That's pretty good.  So what's the hesitation?

Well, now at 25 years old, Kemp has never been much of a prospect.  Prior to last season, he had just 125 to show for going into his age 24 season.  And then he batted .258 at Double-A Reading and .200 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the two stops he spent the most time in 2024.

So there was nothing eye-popping about him.

But the Phillies invited him to Spring Training this season, most likely for his defensive versatility.  He batted .350 in Grapefruit League action, but also appeared at first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field.

At Lehigh Valley this season, he appeared at third base, second base, first base, and left field.

It was a quick rise from mediocre farm hand to versatile star offensive player.  So maybe the Phillies aren't sure what they actually have with Kemp.

With the trade deadline next month on July 31, it's time that the Phillies find out whether or not Kemp can help the club at the major league level.

With Bryce Harper banged up, he could play third base when Alec Bohm moves over to first base.

Or, Kemp could get some right-handed at bats in left field, where Weston Wilson has not come through.  Wilson is batting just .161 playing on the right side of a left field plattoon, batting .160 against left-handed pitching.

While Wilson did throw three scoreless innings this season, it's hard to justfiy his roster spot right now.

The Phillies are also using two roster spots to get little production out of center field.  It's possible that position could be filled by Justin Crawford soon.   If Crawford takes center field every day, he would be replacing two players and leaving room for one.

Sometimes that Triple-A success does translate.

Brandon Moss.was a Triple-A bat in the Phillies system who barely got a look on the big league club.  The Phillies solved and outfield hole with Hunter Pence that season, Moss went on to be an All-Star with Oakland.

But unlike Moss, Kemp has no major league at bats under his belt.  So he is more of an unknown at this point.

The Phillies could land a right-handed bat that's more accomplished at the July 31 trade deadline.  Or, maybe they find out that they have something in Kemp and he can contribute.  How about a promotion sooner than later to find out?