Utility man Scott Kingery was traded to the Los Angeles Angels early Friday afternoon. Just 2 days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Phillies started their activity on the trade market. The Phillies received cash considerations for Kingery.
The Scott Kingery era in Philadelphia comes to an end
Kingery had spent 9 years in the Phillies organization. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft. Fan excitement about Kingery’s potential really skyrocketed after his 2017 minor league season. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Kingery hit .304 with an .889 OPS and 26 home runs. Before that season, he had never hit more than 8 homers in a single year (8 in 2015 between college and Single-A).
His prospect stock jumped into the 30s on top-100 prospect lists. Fans were ready to have Kingery become the next Chase Utley at 2nd base. Before he’d make his debut in 2018, Phillies GM, at the time, Matt Klentak gave Kingery an unprecedented 6-year $24 million contract extension before ever touching a MLB field.
In 2018, Kingery mostly played at shortstop but saw action at 6 other positions, a sign of things to come. In 147 games, he hit an uninspiring .226 with a .605 OPS. In 2019 until the end of June, Phillies fans thought that Kingery had finally arrived. In his first 52 games, Kingery hit .313 with a .948 OPS and 10 homers. Once July started, he looked like his 2018 self, hitting .223 with a .689 OPS.
Notably, Kingery was shuffled defensively mainly to center field and third base. He’d again see action at six different positions during the season.
Scott Kingery came into Spring Training in 2020 looking absolutely jacked. After a disappointing 2nd half in 2019, Kingery’s added muscle reignited excitement surrounding Kingery’s potential. Then, COVID-19 happened. The season was cut short and Kingery was one of the first Phillies to catch the illness. While his health recovered, his stats never did.
In 36 games in 2020, Kingery would hit just .159 with a .511 OPS. In 2021, he barely saw the majors, playing in just 15 games. In the limited time, he’d record just a single hit in 19 at-bats. It would be his last hit as a Phillie.
He appeared defensively in a single game in 2022. All the while, he continued a mediocre trend at the plate in Triple-A. A trend that continued until 2024.
The remnants of prospect hype returned in 2024, reasonably or not. In 125 Triple-A games, Kingery hit 25 homers, just 1 less than his breakout 2017 campaign. His OPS also got over .800 for the first time since 2017. This led to some fans calling for another Kingery promotion.
Phillies move on from Scott Kingery
The promotion never came. Now, Scott Kingery will try to make his return to the major leagues with the Angels.
Kingery’s time in Philadelphia was a strange one. A potentially over-hyped prospect was mired with questionable management of his defense (paging Gabe Kapler) and caught extremely bad luck (and a bad disease) right at the crossroads of his future career.
Forever a hallmark of the Phillies’ rebuild, Scott Kingery will not likely be forgotten by fans. But instead of a spot on the Wall of Fame, he’ll mostly be remembered at bars when you and your buddy start reminiscing about random former Phillies.
Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire
