After shutting down his rehab with Class A Rancho Cucamonga, Matt Kemp decided to take his recovery to the Dodgers spring training complex at Camelback Back Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.

Kemp had a really rough go of things with the Quakes as he went hitless in five games, but thankfully looked good running in the outfield and up the first base line. However, after going through his first full day in Arizona today, Don Mattingly seemed pleased by the results according to Tony Jackson of Dodgerscribe.com:

The report Don Mattingly got from Camelback Ranch was that Matt Kemp had 13 plate appearances today, going 5-for-9 with four walks. How such things are gauged isn’t entirely clear, since there are no actual GAMES going on at CBR until the Arizona Instructional League actually kicks off in a couple of weeks, but Donnie did say this whole thing was recorded on video.

Mattingly and hitting coach Mark McGwire have both looked over extensive film on Kemp’s swing and while he didn’t have a hit with the Quakes, they didn’t seem too concerned.

Without Kemp in the lineup and the Dodgers extending their lead in the NL West, regulars Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier have all gotten time off to rest.

Meanwhile, Yasiel Puig still is sidelined by a knee injury, but if it were a playoff game, he’d be able to play. With 24 games remaining in the season, it’d be nice to see Kemp back in the big leagues so he can get used to facing big league pitching.

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In case you missed it, be sure to find out more about the Michael Young trade!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I-czUHQLaY