Phillies Fans Are SALIVATING Over This...

There are two Phillies prospects that are turning heads right now in AAA, and no I'm not talking about Aiden Miller, no I'm not talking about Andrew Painter, and no I am also not talking about Justin Crawford. We're going to get into all of that today, who these two prospects are, what is going on down in the Phillies minor league system, and if these guys could potentially have a chance to get onto the major league roster in the coming months. But before we do that I do want to remind you guys if you have not subscribed to the channel already, please do so. Just 35% of our viewers that are watching all of our videos have subscribed. Myself and Sean Bernard are uploading at least one video a day here on YouTube. This is the only place to be on YouTube for all Phillies content. But I did want to get into this because there are two prospects that are truly turning heads and maybe giving the Phillies some tough choices and maybe something to think about right now in the pros. The first person I did want to touch on is Otto Kemp. Otto Kemp, if you're on Phillies Twitter, I've made a video about this. If you're in the Phillies world other than YouTube, you've probably heard of Otto Kemp. He was named Phillies Hitter of the Month this morning. In April, 330 batting average, 8 home runs, 24 RBIs, 32 hits, 23 runs, a 7-11 slugging percentage and a 1.132 OPS. He has torn up AAA and Otto Kemp has been the talk really of the minor leagues so far. A guy who was originally undrafted, the Phillies signed him undrafted and he has just been turning it around after finally being healthy. His issue early in his career was health. Now he's healthy, he's tearing the cover off of the baseball. Right now the only issue with Otto Kemp is he doesn't have a ton of versatility around the field. He plays a lot of third base. They've only tried him in two games in left field. Rob Thompson said it went okay. He's not some above average or even average probably outfielder, but at the same time it's hard to ignore what he's doing at the plate right now in AAA. I believe Tim Kelly of On Patterson spoke to Preston Mattingly and Rob Thompson before I believe Sunday's game. This is what Preston Mattingly, who is always around these players, had to say about Otto Kemp. He said, Mattingly is perhaps in an even better position to speak on Kemp given that prior to his promotion to general manager last November, he had served as the director of player development for the Phillies. Mattingly said, Honestly, it's been pretty consistent since he got in the organization. He's a self-made player who's done nothing but get better every single year. I think when he came in, it was very apparent that he was an undrafted player that should have been drafted. He was injured a lot in college. He came in and like I said before, he's a very good processor. He has the ability to take in information and apply it in the game. He's an extremely strong kid, obviously strong wrist, strong forearms. He's gotten better and better defensively. He's one of the best base runners in our organization. I just think he's a really good baseball player. And obviously, once again, by these stats, I think you can see what he's doing. 3.30 batting average in April, a 7.11 slugging percentage. He's tied for first in all of the International League in home runs. And really, if you look at his total season stats with a few games in March, they're basically just as good. On the year, 10 home runs, 35 RBIs, 44 hits, 30 runs scored, and 120 at-bats. He's hitting .344 in AAA with a .433 on-base percentage and a 1.136 OPS. Obviously right now, the Phillies don't have a ton of home. Alec Boehm has obviously struggled, but at the time, it doesn't seem like the Phillies are ready to move on from the Boehm thing right now. Alec Boehm is going to continue to be the team's third baseman. Otto Kemp's best position is third base, so obviously he can't really slot into there right now, at least based off what the Phillies are saying. Left field could maybe get interesting. It's been pretty apparent that the Phillies have been platooning Max Kepler a bit, but Max Kepler has also been hitting the ball really, really well. So right now, I think the best case for Otto Kemp would maybe be continuing to learn left field, a platoon with Kepler. Kepler could move to center some days so they're both in the lineup, but it doesn't seem like right now the Phillies are that urgent. With Kemp, he's only played two games in left field. That's really, I would say, I guess the hole is an outfield spot, even though Max Kepler's not a hole right now. He is, I believe, the second highest OPS on the entire team. He's hit the ball really well. I'm not saying Otto Kemp's going to come up and take Max Kepler's spot, but at the same time, the Phillies are going to have to start thinking about maybe finding a spot for this guy, because you're currently wasting an 1100 OPS down in triple A. Yes, is there a chance that Otto Kemp comes up, it doesn't translate, he starts to see major league pitching, and he struggles a little bit more. Yes, the only incident right now with Otto Kemp, and I know Phillies fans know a lot about this, is he's a bit of a free swinger. His chase rate is a little off, he swings in a lot of pitches, but he hits a lot of them right now too. So right now, I truly think the Phillies are going to have to start really monitoring this situation, because I think it's tough to waste a guy down in the minors with 10 home runs and an 1100 OPS on May 5th. This is also what Preston Mattingly had to say in continuation on Otto Kemp. He said, I think he has the ability to play all over. He says, I think third base is his best spot. He's played a little bit of outfield in the fall league, and here early in Lehigh Valley season, he's played some second base and first base. Those are new to him, as is the outfield. But I think third base is his most natural spot. And then this was from Tim Kelly. He said, obviously third base isn't open right now, even though Alec Boehm currently has a minus .4 war and two remaining minor league options. There's no indication that the Phillies aren't going to continue to let the former all-star try to work through what's been a dreadful start. But whether it's because Boehm keeps struggling, or Weston Wilson doesn't make the impact expected of him, Kemp may soon force the hands of the Phillies. At the very least, they've taken notice of his excellent start. How could they not? And absolutely, because this has been an unbelievable start for Otto Kemp, and it seems like he's just continuing to get better and better and better. The second prospect that I wanted to highlight today is an old name, Mick Abel. Mick Abel, a very high draft pick for the Phillies a few years ago, struggled early in his minor league pro career, obviously took the second half of last season off, he got rocked beginning of last season, he basically took sort of a mental break from the game, and it seems like it's working for him. This is his best start to a minor league season. In seven starts, he has a .275 ERA within 39 innings pitched, 42 strikeouts, and a 1.30 whip. He's still walking some batters, but it's been a lot better than it's been in the past for Mick Abel. Maybe this is the situation where they continue to lead him down in AAA, and they try and get some trade value for him. Obviously, I'm assuming, along with everybody else, the Phillies are going to be pretty active at this trade deadline, whether that's for a reliever, whether that's for another bat, depending on the center field position and how Alex Bone continues to trek throughout his really bad start, but Mick Abel is starting to become a prospect that can be put in trades or maybe even brought up to the major leagues. These two guys have really made an impact down in AAA this year, along with a bunch of other guys. I do want to give flowers to Justin Crawford. I know I said at the beginning of this video that this video wasn't about him, but Justin Crawford's hitting over .320 with an .810 OPS right now in AAA. That is probably still the most likely call-up eventually, maybe down the line this season. Obviously, Andrew Painter's timeline is still summer-ish. I'm assuming middle of July. That's kind of what we've gauged from the Phillies' staff, but the Phillies have a lot of prospects that are starting to turn heads. AutoChem is obviously taking the big headlines right now, but don't sleep on this Mick Abel comeback because I think he's starting to find something down there in AAA. How would you handle this AutoChem situation right now? It's tough because there's not a glaring, glaring extreme hold. I know Alec Bohn's off to a really rough start, but the Phillies, if they brought Alec Bohn back after a winter of trade rumors, they're not going to give up on him after a month. Do you try AutoChem and left? Start. I think AutoChem needs to continue to get more reps in the outfield down in AAA. Is that what you feel? Let me know down in the comments. Once again, if you guys have not subscribed to the channel already, please do so. Just 35% of our viewers that are watching our videos have subscribed. This has been the newest episode of Phillies Digest. My name is Luke Bertanini, and I will see you guys next time.