Scott Kingery is a dark horse pick to make this Philadelphia Phillies roster

In 2019, Scott Kingery was gearing up for his second MLB season. Kingery averaged a solid 126 games with 458 at-bats, 64 runs, 55 RBI, 19 home runs and a batting average of .258. This would be his last solid season in the pros. As many know, Gabe Kapler was the manager of the Phillies of this time and instituted a new system for offense.

The launch angle was instituted by Kapler and really changed the swing of a lot of players. Kingery was of those players for sure. Fast forward to Kevin Long coming onboard and becoming the hitting coach of this Philadelphia Phillies team and helping the players not only get away from the launch angle, but also fixing or improving their swings.

Kingery spent most of his offseason in Arizona with Kevin Long. The work that he was putting in has been appearing to play off. The different broadcast teams on both WIP and NBC Sports Philadelphia have noticed the changes in Kingery’s game. The confidence has been a huge plus for him as well.

In this spring training, the soon to be 29-year-old is logging a .476 batting average. Kingery also has a home run with six runs scored and a pair of RBI. Kingery also has two stolen bases, which is going to be big this season with the bigger bases and shift rules change.

If Scott Kingery makes the Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day roster, he will most likely be a utility guy who can play anywhere on the field.

Obviously, Kingery would have to beat Edmundo Sosa to be the go-to bench guy, but the way Kingery has been playing has definitely put him in contention for the second guy off the bench.

With the departure of Johan Camargo, Nick Maton and Matt Vierling, the Phillies had to find players to replace those bats and gloves on the bench. As of right now, Garrett Stubbs and Sosa are locks for Opening Day. As for the rest of the bench, a couple of roster spots are still open.

Darrick Hall, Jake Cave and Kingery are all battling for those roster spots. Stubbs can play anywhere in the field alongside Sosa, a player the Phillies have been testing in the outfield. The bats are going to be what separates these players from being in Philly or Reading. With Kingery, it seems like he has been arriving back to where he began in 2019.

Kingery’s future is in his own hands, literally. If Kingery continues to impress and improve, he will almost assuredly make the Opening Day roster. It also helps with Trea Turner being away on the USA team, giving Kingery and these guys the extended looks and at-bats. As spring training begins to wind down, the roster will surely craft itself.