Otto Kemp has been through the trials of tribulations of a major league season, one he never envisioned when he was sent down to Lehigh Valley in August. Kemp was back to where his journey began in 2025, the same place where he was determined to prove he belonged at Triple-A — able to hit a higher quality of pitching. 

The demotion was one Kemp had to ponder. His first stint in the big leagues had some ups and downs. Kemp proved he could play at the highest level of baseball, but not well enough to stick around. 

He took the demotion in stride, knowing there was a way to come back. 

"For me, it wasn't about how do I get back up, but how do I continue to grow?" Kemp said. "How do I continue to set myself up to try and help this team win? That's been my mentality. If I can try and do something every day and keep my mind right and do the same thing every day, I'll be able to make some strides. It was easier for me to take that mentality, because there's reasons for everything. I'm not going to take it personally. I'm not gonna take it as a stab at me, because I know that I can play up here and I know I can help this team win."

Kemp has his biggest opportunity of his young baseball career in Game 2 of the NLDS. Rob Thomson gave him the start in left field with Dodgers left-handed starter Blake Snell on the mound and the Phillies' outfield jumbled around in the wake of Harrison Bader's groin injury. 

Batting ninth for the Phillies, this isn't a reward for strong performance. Kemp has earned the trust of the Phillies to get at-bats in the biggest game of the season. 

"He understood that there's a whole bunch of things you can't control," Thomson said. "And the second time he came up, he was really good and really consistent, too. He's a gamer. He's an even-keel guy. Nothing really affects him too much. He's pretty good in this environment."

Kemp figured things out since he returned to the majors on Sept. 8, hitting .250 with an .856 OPS in 16 games. He belted four home runs and had 11 RBIs in 52 at-bats, scoring nine runs. Kemp hit just .211 against LHP, but had an .897 OPS against left-handed pitchers — hence the start against Snell.

"Definitely was not on my bingo card at the start of the year," Kemp said with a smile. "I think that's the beauty of the sport. You never really know where it's gonna take you exactly. You just stay ready and stay true to your process and let it all kind of work out. Nothing's different about today than any of the games I've played before. It's the same game, I think everything is a little more heightened. Keep the same values, keep the same process, and let it all out on the field."

Kemp is just like everyone else. Some nerves come with playing in a game with the magnitude when your team is down 1-0. The Phillies are counting on Kemp to perform, banking on him as a critical part of their future past this season.

They believe in Kemp. He's ready to continue proving them right. 

"If I didn't have [nerves], I wouldn't be a human being," Kemp said. "You just find ways to manage it, and you find ways to kind of get lost in the game and find the flow of the game. That's really what it's about, just slowing the game down and letting it just take over."