What must Scott Kingery do to make the next leap Phillies need?
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Scott Kingery hit his first major-league home run two years ago today, a solo shot to left-center at Citizens Bank Park against Reds left-hander Cody Reed.
Kingery’s first two weeks in the majors went well but his rookie season was a slog after that. He expanded the strike zone a ton, struck out more than you’d like and barely got on base when the hits weren’t falling.
Kingery took a big step forward last season at age 25. He missed a month between April 19 and May 19 with a hamstring injury but hit .347 from opening day through June 1.
In the month of June, he was an extra-base hit machine with nine doubles, a triple and seven home runs in 114 plate appearances.
August was another productive month for Kingery. He hit .287 with 13 extra-base hits and an .825 OPS.
All told, it was a solid second season from Kingery. His .788 OPS was exactly the league average, and his extra-base hit total increased from 33 to 57 in just 16 additional plate appearances. When you factor in the strong defense he has played at six different positions, the value is easy to see.
Kingery has started games at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield spots. No major-leaguer since 1958 has amassed as many plate appearances in his first two seasons (984) while playing all those positions. That’s not just a random fact – it illustrates the rarity of a player being not just a super-utility player but a super-utility starter, and how doubly rare it is for a player to begin his career in that role.
In 2020, whenever the season begins, Kingery will likely be at second base for the majority of the season. Things can change quickly, though. If Jean Segura suffers an injury, Kingery could shift to third base. If Didi Gregorius gets hurt, Kingery or Segura would slide over to short. If there are injuries in center field, Kingery would likely be the next man up after Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley.
Kingery’s versatility is a good thing, not a bad thing, though it probably cost him some offensive effectiveness over his first two seasons. Kingery remarked this offseason that by preparing for so many different positions, there have been many nights in his first two big-league seasons that he felt spent by game time.
His biggest issue at the plate is his constant expansion of the strike zone. Kingery knows it. It’s a goal of his to be better at laying off of pitches he has no chance of making good contact with.
Through two seasons, Kingery’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is ugly. He’s whiffed 273 times and taken 58 walks. No Phillie has struck out that many times in his first two seasons since Pat Burrell in 2001 – but Burrell also walked 75 more times than Kingery has.
Last season, 24% of the pitches Kingery saw were low and away off the plate. He swung at those low-and-away pitches nearly 30% of the time and hit just .127. Obviously, that is a zone a hitter would rather leave alone.
Kingery’s selectivity must improve for him to reach a higher offensive level. There are 118 players with as many plate appearances as him the last two seasons and Kingery ranks 108th in walks.
The Phillies are not relying on Kingery to be their offensive centerpiece or even their sixth-best hitter. However, they’d be so much stronger as a lineup if Kingery could maneuver his way closer to the top of the order and produce. If Kingery could provide consistency in the 2-hole, it would allow someone like J.T. Realmuto or Didi Gregorius to move into more of a run-producing role. And even if Kingery does stay in the 7-spot in the lineup for most of the season, he has a chance to lengthen the Phillies’ lineup and turn it into one of the NL’s best if he can build on his sophomore season.
Kingery had a .315 on-base percentage last season. The league average was .323. Had he reached base just 10 more times in his 500 plate appearances, he’d have been at .334, which is the same as Realmuto’s OBP the last three seasons.
It’s a realistic target for Kingery, who does not need to become the next Chase Utley to be valuable or to live up to the $24 million contract he signed before ever playing a major-league game.
Subscribe and rate the Phillies Talk podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Spotify / Stitcher / Art19 / YouTube
More on the Phillies
-
Phillies player: ‘We knew it was a thing, didn’t know it would turn into this’
-
Former Phillie in South Korea shares his quarantine experience
-
‘Frustrating’ stoppage for Hoskins, who was in a rhythm with new stance
-
MLB’s new plan to play by May or June is so crazy it just might work
-
How Phillies would have matched up this week against the young Blue Jays
