2008 Stats: .290, 18 homeruns, 76 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, 153 Ks
2008 Analysis: Matt Kemp had a pretty interesting year. 18 homeruns and 76 RBIs is pretty good for his first real full year, but not they weren't the momentous numbers everyone was hoping for. There's room (and potential) for improvement.Kemp also struck out 153 times during the year, which isn't pretty, but if you look at the numbers, there is a good sign. Kemp struck 104 times in the first half. Don Mattingly took over at the All-Star break, and Kemp struck out only 49 times after that point. Coincidence? Maybe... but most likely, Kemp started figuring out how to adjust to big league pitching, and started laying off a few of those sliders low-and-away. And that's a good sign of things to come.
Kemp also split his time between right and center field, but ended up playing most of his time in center. He looked awkward at times, but only committed three errors during entire season and had 16 outfield assists. In fact, he was so good, he won the "J's Dodger Blog 2008 Gold Glove" award... so... yeah...
2009 Outlook: Because Matt Kemp is such a raw talent, with so much potential, there's always talk that he could be traded as if he was a prospect. But the thing is, Matt Kemp isn't a prospect anymore, he's a major league outfielder. If he's going to be traded, it really shouldn't be as some package of prospects. If another team wants him, they better consider him as an everyday outfielde, not a prospect.Anyway, that said, I don't expect Kemp to be going anywhere this offseason unless something big comes up. For 2009, I expect Kemp to be our starting center or right fielder.
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