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MLB

Player Journal: Matt Kemp

Third-year prospect kicks off inside look at Minor League season
By
March 9, 2006
Matt Kemp is an outfield prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. The 2003 sixth-round pick had a breakout season in 2005, breaking Adrian Beltre's Vero Beach record for home runs with 27 while hitting .306, driving in 90 runs and stealing 23 bases. He then led the Phoenix Desert Dogs to the Arizona Fall League title by hitting .383 and slugging .606, capping it off with a 4-for-4, two-homer performance in the championship game. The former basketball star began his pro career in 2003 in the Gulf Coast League and has moved a rung at a time since. He spent most of 2004 with Columbus, with a late call-up to Vero, his home for all of the 2005 season. The 21-year-old outfielder helped the Dodgers to the best overall record in the Eastern Division of the Florida State League. He's agreed to chronicle his 2006 season in an exclusive journal for MiLB.com.

• Send Matt an email

Hello fans, I'm Matt Kemp, outfielder for the L.A. Dodgers. Last year, during the regular season I played in the Class A Advanced Florida State League for the Vero Beach Dodgers. Then I played in the Arizona Fall League for the champion Phoenix Desert Dogs.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born and raised in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and I am 21 years of age. In the 2003 MLB Draft, I was the Dodgers sixth-round pick. At the time, I had just graduated from high school and had a chance to play college basketball. But I signed with the Dodgers instead, to begin my professional baseball career.

Currently, I am starting my third full season of baseball and enjoying my first big-league camp with the Dodgers. For me, it is a great opportunity to show my organization that I can play at the big-league level. I have learned so many things from veteran ballplayers like Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr., Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent. But the best thing by far in camp has to be working on my swing with new hitting coach Eddie Murray. So far, it's been a great experience for me.

This journal is a great chance to let baseball fans and Dodgers fans know what's going on during the season in the Minor Leagues. Feel free to ask me any questions about that, or whatever you like, by emailing me at: [email protected]. I'll try to answer as many of your questions as I can in future journals. I will talk to you guys soon.

Matt Kemp is an outfield prospect in the Dodgers organization and a contributor to MLB.com.