K is for Kingery

When the Phillies announced they had signed Scott Kingery to a 6-year, $24 million contract this spring, I was ecstatic. The young infielder was tearing the cover off the ball in spring training and looked to be a star in the making, or at least a solid major leaguer.

Fast forward to today and Kingery is hitting just .237 with more than 80 strikeouts. He doesn't seem to have the bat speed to hit the ball hard. According to Statcast, Kingery's exit velocity is 85.5 mph, slightly below the MLB average of 87.3 mph.

I know he's a rookie and I know he's playing an unfamiliar position. But after he hit .411 in 59 plate appearances in Clearwater this spring, I expected a bit more. Between that performance and the contract, I guess expectations were unrealistic. He's struck out 2 or more times in 20 games this season, and 7 of those games have come since June 19.

Kingery was a .284 career hitter in the minors. He only has 321 big-league at-bats. He's hitting .261 in July. Here's hoping he figures it out and becomes the player everyone thinks he can be.