May 16, 2016
Former Vanderbilt legend Tony Kemp has been called up to the major leagues by the Houston Astros.
The call to the big leagues is Kemp’s first of his career. The Franklin, Tenn. native was in Nashville with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies playing the Nashville Sounds when he received the news of his promotion. Kemp was hitting .298 with 18 runs scored in 34 games for the Grizzlies this year.
An all-time great at Vanderbilt, Kemp was named SEC Player of the Year in 2013 to become just the second Commodore (Hunter Bledsoe, 1999) to earn the award. He also became just the third player in league history to earn both SEC Freshman of the Year honors along with SEC Player of the Year honors in his career. The first team All-American holds the school record for triples in a season and a career and dots the Vanderbilt record books throughout.
Kemp and the Astros open a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox starting tomorrow.