The Rundown: Kemp’s 30-30 season?
Rihanna hasn't been Matt Kemp's Yoko Ono.
Matt Kemp is 25.
Living in Los Angeles.
A millionaire.
And dating Rihanna.
Life doesn’t get much better for the Midwest City native. He recently finished a stretch where he hit seven home runs in 10 games. At this pace, he could threaten 30 home runs which would be yet another milestone in his career.
On the base paths, he has just two stolen bases in 76 plate appearances but even that slow pace has him near 30 by the end of the year, and it’s bound to pick up. He stole 34 last year.
Kemp credits the strength of LA’s lineup as one reason he’s hitting so well. Andre Ethier is off to a big start. Rafeal Furcal is back.
“You don’t want to walk me to get to ‘Dre,” Kemp told the LA Times. “‘Dre is just as capable as me, Manny or anybody else of hitting the ball out of the ballpark. And you don’t want to walk ‘Dre because it’s the same thing.”
Davis to see time at third: With Chris Davis’ return to OKC and Justin Smoak’s promotion to the big leagues, the question remains what becomes of Davis? For starters, he’ll see some time at third base and will likely DH from time to time.
These are also two spots that he could work at in the big leagues when/if he returns this year and beyond. Davis’ defense is good to great at times and no doubt will keep the Rangers interested in his continued development.
As for Smoak, he drew a pair of walks in his first game but has yet to record a hit in three games. He scored a run after drawing a walk but also struck out. The Rangers have praised Smoak’s plate discipline, but at some point he has to put the ball in play.
Budde gets the call: Midwest City native Ryan Budde was called by the Angels late last week. Budde will be the team’s primary backup to Mike Napoli at cather while Jeff Mathis recovers from a broken wrist, meaning it could be an extended stay for Budde who has been with the big league club for stints each of the last three seasons. He has yet to play in a game but should this week.
That’s not where his family’s baseball connections end. Budde’s father, Harlan, is the Director of Facility Operations at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.
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