Tony Kemp Keeps Proving His Value As A Big Leaguer

Tony Kemp Keeps Proving His Value As A Big Leaguer

by | Aug 16, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

Tony Kemp is in his second year with the Oakland Athletics, and the talented utility player is having one of his finest statistical seasons.

Ever since he came into the league, Kemp has found a way to make an impact on the field and he’s doing just that with the Athletics.

The 29-year-old can be versatile on defense and he can play second base or any position in the outfield.

 

A multi-faceted player like Kemp also  gives manager Bob Melvin more options to be creative offensively. 

He can be effective as a starter, pinch hitter, pinch runner, or a defensive replacement.

The six-year veteran has never gotten a real shot at playing consistently, but the  Athletics are one of the top teams in the American League and Kemp will be a key piece going into the postseason.

 

Tony Kemp Is Getting His Bat Back In Gear After A Short Slump Leading Into All-Star Break

 

Standing just 5-foot-6, Kemp goes out there and plays like he’s much taller than that.

Kemp, can straight up ball with the best of them and it’s no surprise that he’s made himself a valuable asset in Oakland.

 


This season Kemp is batting .252 with four home runs and 19 RBI through 92 games played.

His 92 games played are the third most games he’s played in the season.

The most games he’s played in his career came in 2019 season when he played a total of 110 games between two teams.

 


There’s a good chance Kemp will surpass that number of games this season if he can stay healthy.

Our MLBbro recently had one of his best offensive performances of the season on August 12th.

Kemp put together a three-hit performance against the Cleveland Indians. It was his second three-hit outing of the season and first since June.

Kemp has a chance to finish this season with career-highs in multiple offensive categories.

His highest batting average came in 2018 when he was a member of the Houston Astros.

He hit .263 that season and finished with career-highs in hits (67), home runs (six), runs scored (37), doubles (15), and RBI (30).

Let’s be real, Kemp will certainly surpass the runs scored and possibly home runs. He has not only shown plate discipline but his power has increased.

 


He’s already set a career-high in on-base percentage. Through the 92 games this season his on-base percentage is .370. 

The brother has found ways to get on base and when he’s on base he puts himself in a solid position to score.

He’s also got a clutch gene.


That’s a positive sign for the Athletics because they know that if he’s coming off the bench or starting, Kemp is going to impact the game in a multitude of ways. 

With over a month left in the season and Oakland involved in a playoff hunt, Kemp’s secret sauce will be much required. 

 

Tony Kemp Keeps Proving His Value As A Big Leaguer

Tony Kemp Is Getting His Bat Back In Gear After A Short Slump Leading Into All-Star Break

by | Jul 28, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

Headed into the All-Star break, Tony Kemp was struggling at the plate.

Since the second half of the season has started, Kemp has picked it up and put together more productive at bats for the Oakland Athletics.

From July 6th to July 11th Kemp went hitless and the All-Star break could not have come at a better time for the veteran. Coming into July, Kemp had back-to-back impressive months at the plate in May and June.

 

 

In both months, he hit .292 and made a significant impact in the Athletics lineup.

He’s recently had some better performances at the plate and that’s the big turnaround he’s needed. Kemp returned from the All-Star break and delivered a four-game hit streak. It seemed as if that break was what Kemp needed to get himself rested for the second half of the season.

He had his best game of the month so far on July 24th against the Seattle Mariners. Our MLBbro went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and a RBI. That was the first time he had a multi-hit game in over a month. He was definitely due for a game like that. He’s way too good a hitter to continue to struggle. 

From the end of May to the beginning of June, Kemp went on an eight-game hitting streak. 

 

 

Throughout June, Kemp continued to have impressive performances at the plate and he wanted that to continue going into July. At the start of July, Kemp could not buy a hit. He only had two hits in 10 games.

On July 3rd, Kemp went hitless against the Boston Red Sox, but he came up in a big way to help his team win the game.

Despite going 0-for-4 at the plate, Kemp hit a sacrifice fly to help the Athletics defeat the Red Sox 7-6.

Kemp was not pleased with his performance that game, but he was glad he helped the team come out with a win. 

“That was a relief,” Kemp told reporters after the game. “Leading up to that point in the game, that was, thinking back, I think that was, up to that point, the worst game I’ve played in the big leagues. Just a lot of thinking going on there, like such a long game, sometimes you help your team win, sometimes you help your team lose. Unfortunately, for a long time in that game, I was on the unfortunate end of that.”

Through 79 games he’s hitting .253 with four home runs and 19 RBI.

Sometimes baseball can be a funny game. You can go hitless in a game and still be the hero and that’s exactly what happened to Kemp. That was the one bright spot during his hitless streak before the All-Star break and now that’s all behind him as he looks to continue to make an impact for his team trying to hang in the AL West race, sitting five game sbehind the first place Astros.  

There will be times where a player might struggle at the plate for an extended period of time, but they can’t let that affect their game. How they respond to that adversity and make adjustements determines the success they have. 

Don’t be surprised if Kemp finishes out July on a positive note and carries that throughout the remainder of the season.