Matt Kemp is Hitting his Fantasy Prime

Published: 29^th Apr 12 7:40 pm

by Adam McGill
adammcgill

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Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Following a monstrous walk-off home run in the Dodgers’ dramatic tenth-inning win last night, Matt Kemp has really established himself as the best bat in all of fantasy baseball. He had a somewhat disappointing 2010 campaign with a mediocre .249 batting average, causing many fantasy owners to pass on him and his 40 HR-40 SB potential over the last couple years. However, those very same owners have been kicking themselves as he has established himself as the best player in fantasy baseball. Kemp combines raw power with blazing speed, a skill set that any manager (and fantasy manager) would pay hand over first for.

The outfield may consistently be the deepest position in all of fantasy baseball, but Kemp is currently scoring like two outfielders. He is hitting a ridiculous .425 so far this season, including 19 singles, 4 doubles, and 11 home runs. He also has driven in an enormous 24 runs already, putting him on pace to drive in an ungodly 176.2 runs on the year. That number will obviously come down a little as he cools, but only a little. Kemp will still be well above .300 this season and will easily drive in around 130 runs.

Matt Kemp’s speed and strength is changing the way people look at the center field position. At 225 pounds, Kemp is built more like an NFL linebacker as opposed to a centerfielder, since beanpoles have prototypically dominated the position. However, Kemp continues to break the mold of the position, as he is built more like three-time NL MVP, Albert Pujols as opposed to the 2004 stolen base champion, Scott Podsednik. Kemp has really been showcasing his home run ability to both sides of the park thus far in 2012 and the 27-year old still has hundreds of dingers in his future. He has become the ultimate fantasy baseball keeper and will continue to dominate the sport for the next five years.

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