Otto Kemp had his heart broken.

During his college days at Point Loma Nazarene, a California Division 2 school in the Pacific West Conference, there were a few scouts sniffing around who had shown an interest in the young infielder with the Phillies being perhaps the most aggressive.

With that in mind, Kemp sat through Day 1 of the 2022 Draft and didn’t hear his name, which was OK because he knew he wasn’t going to be going in the early rounds.

The next day, Kemp’s expectations grew as teams made their selections in rounds 3 through 10. Again, no movement on Kemp. While disappointed, he awaited Day 3 and thought the Phillies or one of the other teams he had talked to would grab him somewhere between rounds 11 and 20. Nope.

Kemp put up decent numbers – 33 homers, 101 RBI, and a .356/.484/.644 slash line – at a school that despite its size, was known as a strong baseball school. Scouts had looked him in the eye and said that they would be taking him somewhere in the later rounds, but those words turned out to be hollow.

“It was not a fun two days,” Kemp said.

Four days after the draft, the Phillies called Kemp’s agent and offered a contract, and soon he was off to Clearwater.

Many undrafted free agents never get that call from a team, and if they do, they struggle to work their way through the minors. Kemp has had a different experience, reaching Triple-A last September after opening the season on the IL then going on a rehab stint with Clearwater. He moved up to High-A Jersey Shore in late April.

In July, Kemp moved to Double-A and finished the year with Lehigh Valley. For 2025, the Phillies placed him with the IronPigs to open the season and he made the opening day lineup, batting leadoff and playing third base.

“I’ve worked hard to get to this point,” said Kemp. “At the end of the day, it’s just about learning at every single level you’re at and trying to be the one that excels there. I’ve just tried to keep learning through the whole thing and try to take it all in. I just keep trying to see how I can improve my game at every single level.”

In spring training, Kemp got some time in big league camp and took the same approach there, trying to soak up as much as he could watching the major league players go through their daily routines.

“It’s cool to learn from guys and just kind of sit back and watch some of the things they do for sure,” he said. “Sometimes, I would be between drills and see Bryce Harper was taking ground balls at first base and would watch him for a few minutes to see what I could pick up.”

Much of Kemp’s time in the minors has been spent at third base where he has played 181 games, compared to 65 games at second base. The 25-year-old has played sparingly at shortstop and in right field in his career, but is willing to try anything to make himself more valuable.

“It takes some time to get used to playing positions that you have never played before,” Kemp said. “The fall league was really helpful because I got to bounce around a lot and built a daily routine to figure out that if I am going to be bouncing around, what do I need to do to stay ready.”

Kemp knows that he is not next in line to be called up to the majors and isn’t concerned about the timeline. Like most players, he focuses just on what he can control and not worry about what happens around him.

In the first nine games, Kemp was hitting 3-7-.250/.333/.583 with Lehigh Valley and has played error-free at first, second and third.

HOT BATS, COLD WEATHER … Among players with 25 or more plate appearances, Christian Arroyo (.357) leads the hitting attack with Payton Henry (.348) and Oscar Mercado (.333) also off to good starts. Kemp leads the team with three home runs, while Arroyo leads with nine RBIs. Justin Crawford leads the team with four stolen bases.

REMEMBER ME? ... Griff McGarry was considered a solid prospect not long ago, but his stock has fallen into recession levels. But wait, the 25-year-old threw four perfect innings with eight strikeouts in his first start of the season with Double-A Reading. The Phillies moved him from the rotation to the bullpen and now back again, and his opening salvo with the Fightins was good enough to get him named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.