Otto Kemp wants to ‘keep it simple’ in first outfield start on national stage

PHILADELPHIA — Otto Kemp estimated that he’s played about 10 games in left field in his entire life. It’s safe to say that none of those were as big as the one he’ll start on Sunday night.

The rookie will head to the outfield for the first time in his short major-league career as the Phillies take on the New York Mets in a “Sunday Night Baseball” showcase on ESPN. Both teams are now tied for first place in the National League East after splitting the first two of this three-game series. One club will leave Philadelphia with the division lead.

A natural infielder, Kemp is not too worried about the left-field opportunity coming on a large stage.

“Just try and keep it simple and not make it more than what it needs to be,” Kemp said. “I think the more thought you put into certain aspects of it, the more it can kind of get jumbled up. So I’m just trying to keep it simple and keep a clear mind out there and just go catch the ball.”

The bat-first Kemp was summoned to the big leagues two weeks ago when Bryce Harper was placed on the injured list with right-wrist inflammation. So far, he’s mostly manned first base in Harper’s absence. Kemp is hardly a defensive stalwart, but he’s been solid in his nine games at first.

With left-hander David Peterson on the mound for the Mets on Sunday, Phillies manager Rob Thomson opted to send the right-handed-hitting Kemp out to left and pencil Buddy Kennedy, another righty, into the lineup at first base. Kemp played left field seven times this season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and not too much before that. But the club sounds comfortable with what they’ve seen from him out there.

“He looks fine,” Thomson said. “You never know exactly until he gets into a game, but all his pregame work’s been good.”

Even when he wasn’t starting in left field in the minors, Kemp worked with IronPigs bench coach Chris Adamson to improve at the position and has continued to do so during batting practice with the Phillies. He’s talked to regular left fielder Max Kepler about playing balls off the wall and how to best maneuver the area at Citizens Bank Park.

Kemp has put in the effort, but he knows there could be an adjustment period. As Thomson noted, real-game action is a different story. Kemp will lean on the coaches and other players if there are adjustments to be made

“I think just talking through it all and knowing there’s going to be balls that — hopefully I make every play –but as we go, we’re still learning,” Kemp said. “If something comes up, we’ll address it and go from there.”

Kennedy, a South Jersey native and Phillies fan growing up, rejoined the team on Thursday. He appeared in eight games for the Phillies last year, hitting a game-tying double against Peterson and the Mets in September. He was then designated for assignment at the start of this season, cleared waivers and returned to the organization on a new minor-league deal before his contract was selected this past week.

“This year, going into it and going back to Lehigh, I wasn’t really thinking about the future too much, kind of just where my feet were,” Kennedy said. “… But I’m very excited to be back up here, to start versus the Mets on ‘Sunday Night Baseball,’ my first of my career. So it’s a really cool honor, and I’m ready to have fun.”

Although he played some left field in spring training as he battled for the final spot on Philadelphia’s roster, putting Kennedy in the outfield does not seem like an option that Thomson wants to go to at the moment. Instead, the manager indicated that he’d like to give Kemp some rope in left field and “see what we got.”

Maybe Kemp can’t handle the position with some of his defensive limitations, but there is some upside if he can prove to be capable. Weston Wilson, who was optioned to Triple-A when Kennedy came up, did not produce as the platoon partner for the lefty-hitting Kepler. Kemp could potentially become that guy if the defense reaches a certain threshold.

With a .659 OPS in 13 games, Kemp feels that his timing is improving at the plate. He looks the part with a bat in his hands. Finding a spot for him in the field once Harper is back will be the bigger challenge. Perhaps left field against left-handed pitching could be the place.

Testing out Kemp in left field also allows Thomson to add three extra righty hitters to the lineup with Kennedy slotting in at first, Johan Rojas going to center field for Brandon Marsh and Edmundo Sosa playing second base for Bryson Stott. The Phillies will face two more left-handed starters, Framber Valdez and Colton Gordon, in the first two games of their next series in Houston starting Tuesday.

Philadelphia might not overload as many right-handed hitters in both those games in order to keep some lefty batters fresh, but there’s a decent chance Kemp sees left field at least another time in the next handful of days to keep that platoon advantage at more positions.

“We’ll probably get some more righties in there, for sure,” Thomson said. “But whether we play all right-handed like we are today, I’m not sure yet.”