Dwayne Kemp
From BR Bullpen
Dwayne Richenel Kemp
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 5' 8", Weight 160 lb.
- Born February 24, 1988 in Rotterdam The Netherlands
Dwayne Kemp is the son of 1996 Olympics outfielder Adonis Kemp, a long-time Hoofdklasse star. Dwayne played in Hoofdklasse from 2005-2007, then signed with the Chicago Cubs.
Kemp went 3 for 16 with a walk as the second baseman for the Dutch entry in the 2004 World Junior Championship.
Kemp was 1 for 10 for his father's old Neptunus club in 2005. In 2006, he moved to Sparta/Feyenoord and was their regular second baseman, hitting .269/.312/.377. The next year, he improved to .333/.420/.475 and fielded .962 at second base. He tied for 16th in Hoofdklasse with 25 runs, tied for 15th with 21 RBI, was 4th with 12 steals (but was caught 9 times) and ranked 7th with 12 doubles.
Kemp signed with the Chicago Cubs in late 2007, becoming the fourth Dutch player from MLB's European Academy to sign with a US club, following Kalian Sams, Ramon Romeijn and Tom Stuifbergen. He debuted in the US on June 24, 2008 with the AZL Cubs and went 0 for 4 against the AZL Giants. Kemp hit .304/.407/.565 with 4 doubles, a triple, 2 steals and 6 runs in 7 games for the AZL Cubs and was promoted to the Boise Hawks. He batted .200/.246/.308 in 25 games for Boise, with 23 strikeouts in 65 AB.
Kemp joined the Dutch national team for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, replacing the injured Hainley Statia. It was his first time on the Dutch senior squad, but he did not play in the final two Dutch games before they were eliminated.
Kemp batted .255/.315/.412 for the 2009 AZL Cubs as a 2B-3B.
Sources: Dutch baseball stats, Honkbalsite.com article, 2008 Cubs Media Guide
