The start was encouraging for Scott Kingery.
After a productive spring training at the plate, the former Philadelphia Phillies top prospect blasted two home runs in the first two games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. But in the time since, the results haven’t been there for the 2015 second-round pick.
Kingery, who turns 29 Saturday, is batting .243/.303/.400 in 19 games with the IronPigs, good for a .703 OPS with two homers, two triples and a homer. His OPS is just .577 after the first two games of the season. He has 21 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances and only five walks. The bat has certainly cooled down from the way it was in March.
Still, there are some positives to take away from Kingery’s season so far at Lehigh Valley. He’s stolen eight bases, and he’s gotten time in the field at three different positions: shortstop, center field and second base. And while some questioned the decision to play the natural second baseman all around the diamond early in his career, there’s no question that his positional versatility gives him an advantage at this stage.
In the final guaranteed season of a six-year deal that came before he ever played a major-league game, Kingery has played just 16 games in the bigs since the start of 2021 and just one in the last two seasons. His days as a regular for the Phillies are almost certainly behind him, but perhaps he could still see time on the roster at some point this year.
If the team needs a right-handed bat to fill in for an injured player down the line, Kingery could fit the description. Plus, his aforementioned ability to play multiple spots could make him an intriguing candidate as a replacement in a number of scenarios. Ultimately, he’ll need to hit more to really put pressure on the Phillies to send him back up to Philadelphia as a member of the bench.
All Kingery can do for now is look to perform for Lehigh Valley, hoping to find the strides he made this spring once again.
