Tony Kemp Compares Baltimore Orioles' Young Core to Houston Astros
Former Houston Astros infielder Tony Kemp signed with the Baltimore Orioles and had great things to say about his new team's young players.
A former Houston Astros played found a new team on Tuesday and he quickly made a comparison between his new team and the team he broke in with in 2017.
Tony Kemp joined the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, the result of him signing a $1 million deal to join the defending AL East champions as depth off the bench. Kemp can play both second base and left field and spent the past four seasons with the Oakland Athletics.
But Kemp broke in with the Houston Astros in 2016. The Astros took Kemp out of Vanderbilt in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB Draft and he joined the big-league club in 2016.
Kemp was up-and-down with the Astros until he was dealt at the 2019 trade deadline to the Chicago Cubs for catcher for Martín Maldonado.
But Kemp walked away from the Astros with a World Series ring from 2017 and an understanding that he played with an outstanding group of young players, some of which are still in the organization.
The young core of that team included current Astros Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, along with Carlos Correa, Josh Reddick, George Springer and Yuli Gurriel.
Kemp landed with and Orioles organization that is loaded with young talent, some of which is aleady at the MLB level in Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Kyle Bradish and the game’s No. 1 prospect, Jackson Holliday, who had a tremendous spring but was sent back to Triple-A.
When Kemp arrived in Baltimore, he made it clear he had seen this level of young talent concentrated in one place before.
“I think it’s exciting,” Kemp said. “It kind of reminds we of the Astros where we were going to the playoffs and winning championships, it's kind of reminds me of that kind of core group. So I feel like I thrive in that role so whatever they ask of me I'll be ready.”
The Orioles won 101 games last season, their first season of 100 or more wins in more than 30 years. Baltimore is seeking its second straight AL East title and a longer playoff run, which ended with a three-game series loss in the American League Divisional Series to the Texas Rangers.
