Phillies’ Otto Kemp and Griff McGarry take home Paul Owens Award honors

The Phillies handed out their annual Paul Owens Awards this week, and it couldn’t have gone to two more different stories.

On one side you’ve got Otto Kemp, the undrafted long shot who’s turned himself into a legit contributor at the major league level. On the other, Griff McGarry, the once-hyped prospect who looked finished a year ago but just might be finding his way back.

Griff McGarry and Otto Kemp take home the Paul Owens Award honors

Griff McGarry and Otto Kemp have been selected as the 2025 recipients of the Paul Owens Award! pic.twitter.com/caP0gzFY74

— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) September 22, 2025

Let’s start with Otto Kemp

The guy has been pure chaos for opposing pitchers since the moment he showed up in the system. After obliterating Triple-A with a .310 average, a .987 OPS, and 16 bombs in just 74 games, he forced his way onto the Phillies’ roster this summer.

Otto Kemp got sent back down once, but all he did was mash again until they had no choice but to bring him back. Now he’s being considered as a piece for the postseason roster. Imagine that. From undrafted free agent to Red October.

That’s about as Philly as it gets.

Things get interesting with Griff McGarry

Once the No. 3 prospect in the Phillies’ system, McGarry fell completely off the map last year. Command issues, injuries, you name it, he had it. He was walking hitters at a rate that looked like a typo: 61 free passes in 48 innings at Triple-A. That disaster ballooned his ERA to 8.44 at the level. He fell out of the Top 30 prospects altogether, and it looked like the book was closed on him as a starter.

But 2025 has been different. Sent back to Double-A Reading, McGarry looked like the guy scouts drooled over in the first place. In 17 starts, he put up a 3.25 ERA and punched out 103 batters in 72 innings. Most importantly, he finally started throwing strikes.

His walk rate is basically cut in half, from a hideous 10.2 BB/9 last season to 5.3 this year. That’s still high, but it’s progress, and for a pitcher with McGarry’s raw stuff. Fastball is mid-90s, two filthy breaking balls, and a changeup that flashes above-average. That type of arsenal makes all the difference.

When he finally made it back to Triple-A last week, he tossed five innings, eight strikeouts, just one earned run, and only two walks. For McGarry, that’s like climbing Everest without oxygen.

Griff McGarry finished with 8 strikeouts and allowed just one hit in his first start with the @IronPigs this season! pic.twitter.com/KnHWpqONRi

— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) September 19, 2025

The biggest Takeaway with Griff McGarry is that he knows his command is what needs to be worked on constantly and credit to him, the results are finally showing.

If this trend keeps up, he’s not just back in the picture, he’s got a real chance to debut in the majors by 2026 as either a starter or a weapon out of the bullpen. Considering how far he’s fallen and how close he was to being written off completely, this comeback arc is quietly one of the better stories in the Phillies’ farm system.

So yeah, two very different paths, but both Kemp and McGarry are proof the Phillies’ system still has some juice. Kemp looks like a lock to be around for the long haul and while McGarry isn’t all the way back yet, but after the year he’s had, you’d be crazy to count him out.

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