Phillies: Five players who disappointed this season

1. Scott Kingery

Phillies fans know the story of Scott Kingery, and they’ve read this book far too many times.

Rated as the top second base prospect in baseball, Kingery was signed to a six-year $24 million contract before he played a major league game. The organization’s plan was for him to play the role of Ben Zobrist, an everyday player who played every position.

The only problem? Zobrist is a 13-year veteran and Kingery never played more than six games off second base as a prospect.

Kingery came out of the gates hot hitting .280 in his first 13 games, but in the 13 games following that he hit just .154. He’s hitting just .230 on the season, and has hit no better than .250 in a single month.

Our Twitter followers agreed, by a slight margin, that Kingery has been the most disappointing player on the team this year.

Perhaps the hype around Kingery was too much, but when you draw comparisons to Chase Utley from the front office and coaching staff in this town, expectations will be high.

More from Phillies News

• 3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing
• Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
• Could Rich Hill become ‘Jamie Moyer 2.0’ in Phillies rotation?
• Does Bailey Falter have a future in Phillies’ rotation?
• Bryce Harper’s absence should lead to Phillies lineup tinkering

Gabe Kapler has said the team plans on keeping Kingery in the “super-utility role” that he’s played under all season, but the potential and investment are too high for the organization to bench him and move him across the diamond.

The organization appeared to have given a pass on playing defense this year, and having the top second base prospect in baseball play just three percent of his games this year at his natural position is not a formula for success.

Hopefully the bumps and bruises will turn into lessons for Kingery to carry beyond this season and throughout a successful major league career.