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ATLANTA -- With Bryce Harper on the verge of making his return, the Phillies will have some decisions to make when it comes to Otto Kemp.
Kemp has been playing on an everyday basis in Harper’s absence. After making his first few starts at his natural position of third base just to get his feet wet, Kemp has been starting at first base against right-handed pitchers and in left field against left-handers.
Overall, Kemp has started 20 of 21 games since making his MLB debut on June 7, but obviously, once Harper is back, there could be fewer opportunities.
That leaves a couple of options for Kemp. He could stick around the big leagues, potentially in a non-everyday role, or the Phillies could send him back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley where he would continue to get everyday at-bats.
“He could stick around, yeah,” manager Rob Thomson said over the weekend. “I really like his at-bats. I really do.”
With first base off the table, does that mean Kemp’s main opportunities would come in left field?
“Yeah, we'll see,” Thomson said. “But that's the way, in my mind, I think of it.”
The left-handed-hitting Max Kepler has started all 60 games against a right-handed starter this season (56 in left field and four in right field). He's slashing .205/.312/.380 (.692 OPS) against right-handed pitchers. Kemp, meanwhile, is slashing .245/.298/.377 (.676 OPS) against righties in a relatively small sample.
The most likely arrangement in the short term would be to continue primarily using Kepler against righties and Kemp against lefties. Kemp is just 4-for-16 (.250) against southpaws to this point in the big leagues, but he was hitting .338 (25-for-74) with a 1.122 OPS against left-handers prior to his promotion.
Of course, another player putting up big numbers in Triple-A is No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford -- a left-handed-hitting outfielder. Crawford, who had a scheduled off-day on Sunday, is slashing .335/.409/.442 (.851 OPS) with 26 stolen bases in 64 games with the IronPigs.
Typically, however, teams will not call up a 21-year-old hot-hitting prospect unless there’s a path to consistent at-bats at the big league level.
Crawford is no different, though theoretically, he’d be getting approximately 75% of the starts as the left-handed portion of a platoon.
“I would think a young guy like that has got to play, not every day, but very consistently,” Thomson said.
That’s one option the Phillies could consider. That, too, would leave some playing time for Kemp in left field.
And while the Phillies have liked what they’ve seen so far from Kemp, that production could improve once he’s able to focus fully on one position. Up to this point, Kemp has been taking extra pregame reps in both the infield and the outfield -- trying to essentially learn two new positions -- all while also adapting to seeing Major League pitching for the first time.
“He's got really good aptitude,” Thomson said. “He adjusts very well and very easily. I like a lot of things about him.”