Gritty Kemp persevered, now poised for do-it-all role in '26 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Phillies have made it clear how much they like Otto Kemp. Once you understand how he got here, it makes sense why.
Kemp didn’t come from a powerhouse college program. He attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, a Division II school. The production was anything but modest.
Across 121 collegiate games with the Sea Lions, Kemp hit .356, slugged 33 home runs and posted a 1.124 OPS. During his senior season in 2022, he reached base in all 61 games he played.
Still, when the Draft arrived, his name never came up.
MLB had already reduced the Draft from 50 rounds to 40 in 2012. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, it dropped to just 20. For a Division II infielder without national exposure, the odds were steep.
Shortly after the Draft concluded, though, the Phillies called. Kemp signed a minor-league contract and went to work.
He showed promise early. Between Rookie ball and Single-A Clearwater in his first two professional seasons, Kemp hit his way onto the organization’s radar while playing primarily second and third base — the same positions he manned in college.
Then came 2024, when things moved quickly.
Kemp opened the season at Single-A, hit .500 over five games, and earned a promotion. At High-A Jersey Shore, he posted a .973 OPS, which earned him a move to Double-A Reading. There, he hit 11 home runs with an .829 OPS in 64 games — enough to send him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to finish the year.
Only 248 professional games into his career, he had played for five different affiliates.
Kemp capped the year in the Arizona Fall League, where he continued expanding his defensive profile, adding first base and corner outfield to the list. The offense followed. He hit six home runs, slugged .733, and posted a 1.193 OPS against top-end competition.
By then, the Phillies were no longer evaluating whether Kemp could help, only where.
That momentum carried into 2025. Kemp opened the season at Triple-A and earned his first Major League call-up on June 7.
The transition wasn’t seamless — or painless.
On June 17, Kemp fouled a ball off his kneecap, chipping the bone. He also dealt with a left shoulder issue.
“I was pretty banged up,” Kemp said. “I had to get two procedures done, one on my knee, one on my shoulder [in the offseason]. They removed a bone fragment from my knee… I was able to grind it through.”
Kemp was optioned back to Lehigh Valley in mid-August, after posting a .657 OPS over his first 46 big league games and 161 plate appearances.
The versatility remained constant. He played first base, second base, third base and left field.
His third stint in Triple-A helped him re-evaluate everything.
“That reset was big for me,” Kemp said. “It allowed me to take a step back and look at where I was… trying to get back to what I believe in and what plays best for me.”
In those 16 Triple-A contests, Kemp reached base safely in 13, recorded five multi-hit games and earned another call back to the big leagues.
This time, the production came with impact.
In his final 16 regular-season games, Kemp posted an .858 OPS, collected eight extra-base hits and hit four home runs — three on the first pitch.
That stretch included a start in left field during the National League Division Series, a position Kemp had only begun playing consistently last season.
When the season ended, Kemp finally had time to process how quickly everything had moved — not just the debut or the injuries, but the scope of a year that changed his career.
“[My wife and I] got to spend some time together after the season ended and just look back at it,” Kemp said. “The relationships, the places we got to go, all the stuff we got to experience — it was really special to go through that with my wife.”
Like Kemp, the Phillies carried a great deal of optimism into the offseason.
“I think Otto has a chance to be an everyday player,” Dave Dombrowski said at season’s end. “That ball jumps off his bat. We really like him. We like his makeup. He can play a couple different positions.”
Entering 2026, Kemp’s role is still coming into focus. Rob Thomson has suggested he could factor into a platoon — potentially alongside Brandon Marsh in left field — especially given Kemp’s .786 OPS against left-handed pitching at the big-league level.
Defense — around the diamond — remains a point of emphasis as he enters his first full season in Philadelphia.
“I think it’s overall comfort,” Kemp said. “Every place you play, the dimensions are different… just learning how to play through that is the biggest part moving forward.”
Thomson has pointed to something else.
“I mean, he’s just so tough,” the manager said. “He’s one of those guys that can put all that pain and little dings behind him and go out and play.”
Kemp’s path is certainly rare. Based on Baseball-Reference, Baseball Almanac and Division II program bios, only nine players — including Kemp and former Phillies All-Star Ricky Bottalico — have attended an NCAA Division II school, gone undrafted and appeared in a Major League game.
He doesn’t frame that as an endpoint.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t stick,” he said. “Hopefully, I’m trying to prove I can be one of those guys that can get established up here.”
For the Phillies, that belief is already there. Now, it’s about what Kemp does with it.
