Matt Kemp

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Matthew Ryan Kemp (The Bison)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 210-230 lb.

High School Midwest City High School
Debut May 28, 2006

Born September 23, 1984 in Midwest City, OK USA

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[edit] Biographical Information

Outfielder Matt Kemp was drafted in the sixth round of the 2003 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and debuted that year with the GCL Dodgers, hitting .270/.298/.346. A year later, he hit .288/.330/.499 for the Columbus Catfish and moved up to the Vero Beach Dodgers, where he batted .351/.405/.568 in 11 contests. In 2004-2005, he was second in the Arizona Fall League with a .383 batting average.

Kemp led the Vero Beach Dodgers with 27 homers and 90 RBI in 2005, overall producing a .306/.349/.569 line and also swiping 23 bases. He led the Florida State League in slugging, was second in homers, sixth in average and made the FSL All-Star team at DH. He was rated the 5th-best prospect in the league by Baseball America.

After a strong start in 2006 with the Jacksonville Suns (.327/.402/.528), he made his major league debut with Los Angeles but was sent back down to AAA for most of July and August. Baseball America named him the top power prospect and most exciting player in the Southern League despite only 48 games there. Kemp hit .368/.428/.560 in 44 games for the Las Vegas 51s with 37 runs and 36 RBI. He also stole 14 bases in 17 tries. Baseball America rated him the #6 prospect in the Pacific Coast League, between Andy LaRoche and Chris Young.

He hit .222/~.295/.303 for the 2006-2007 Estrellas Orientales and hit .329 for the Las Vegas 51s in 2007 before being brought back to the Dodgers, where he played in 98 games hitting .342 with 10 HR and 42 RBI.