Philadelphia Phillies Top Prospect Pulls off Incredible International League Feat

The Philadelphia Phillies have an infielder that is racking up the hardware in the first season of the minor league campaign.

Feb 25, 2025; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Otto Kemp (82) hits a RBI double against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Charlotte Sports Park. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have a Top 30 prospect who spent Monday racking up the hardware in the International League.

Otto Kemp, a 25-year-old third baseman, won the International League’s player of the week for his action last week and the player of the month award for April. He is the Phillies No. 24 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

He started his first full season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley with a bang. For April he slashed .330/.421/.711. He led the International League in three categories — runs (23), total bases (69), home runs (eight) and slugging percentage (.711).

He was also second in hits (32), doubles (11), RBIs (24) and OPS (1.132). He had one four-hit game in the month, one of 12 multi-hit games. His best game was a career-high six RBI game late in the month against Rochester.

That game, played on April 29, put him in position to win the weekly award too. Kemp hit two home runs in the contest, which allowed him to start the week with a bang.

By the end of the series, the right-handed hitter slashed .448/.500/.862 with a 1.362 OPS. He had three doubles and three homers, driving in 14 runs while scoring eight times.

Including games played in May, he slashed .344/.433/.703 in 32 games with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. He has a 1.136 OPS. He’s been progressively more productive in each professional season, but he’s already approaching his career high of 16 home runs, set last year at four different affiliates.

Kemp has done it the hard way. He was highly regarded coming out of high school, but injuries limited his options, and he ended up at Division II Point Loma Nazarene in California. But things didn’t start well for him there, either. He suffered a blood clot, a torn labrum and, combined with the COVID pandemic, he missed basically his first two years of college baseball.

But, once he put the injuries behind him, he showed what he was able to do. In his final college season in 2022, he slashed .364/.492/.645 in a career-best 61 games, as he slammed 17 home runs and 62 RBI, both of which were career bests. He also scored 76 runs. He and Point Loma reached the national championship game, where it lost to North Greenville.

He remained overlooked, as the Phillies signed him as an undrafted free agent and sent him to the Florida Complex League to begin his pro career.

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