Scott Kingery slugging his way to red-hot April in minors

Scott Kingery is currently at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. (Cheryl Pursell)

Scott Kingery is still in the Phillies organization, making noise in the minor leagues.

The former top prospect has put together a red-hot month of April at the plate for Triple-A Lehigh Valley as he plays what could be his final season under contract for Philadelphia.

Kingery, who turns 30 next week, is batting .302/.375/.721 in 13 April games after a slow first series to start the season at the end of March. The utility man had a strong showing in the power department in the IronPigs’ most recent six-game series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 4-for-19 with two home runs against the RailRiders with a key two-RBI double on Sunday in a Lehigh Valley victory.

In 59 plate appearances across 16 games, Kingery has a .948 OPS with five home runs, a triple, a double and five stolen bases without being caught. He’s been showing off that combination of power and speed that made him one of the top players in the Phillies’ system early in his career, at least for a short flash. He’s played exclusively middle infield to start the year with 53 innings at his natural second base and 76 at shortstop.

Kingery has spent the vast majority of his time at Lehigh Valley since 2021, last appearing in the major leagues in 2022 when he logged one inning in the field at second base and failed to make a plate appearance. He was removed from Philadelphia’s 40-man roster in June of that season.

The entire situation has been a disappointment for the Phillies and Kingery, once considered a potential franchise cornerstone and given a six-year major-league contract in 2018 to prove it. He signed that deal before he ever played a big-league game, looked overmatched as a rookie, bounced back in Year 2 before more struggles came his way.

Kingery thought he’d be a free agent this past offseason when the guaranteed years of that contract expired, but the Phillies informed him otherwise. He’s now back for another season on the terms of his original minor-league contract, enjoying his time with the team and fighting to show he can still play.

He’s certainly making a decent pitch early this season to get at least another look in the majors, whether it’s for the Phillies later this year if they need depth or for another club in the future.