Phillies 2020 Season Player Grades: Scott Kingery

Grading Phillies infielder Scott Kingery’s 2020 season

During his rookie season with the Phillies in 2018, Scott Kingery played in 147 games but looked overmatched more often than not at the plate. He hit .226 with a .605 OPS and 126 strikeouts in 452 at-bats. Bulking up over the offseason, Kingery increased his power to 19 home runs, his average to .258, and his OPS to .788 in 2019. Bigger things were expected in 2020, but as we know, things don’t always go as planned — partially because of him being among the few Phillies players who tested positive for COVID-19.

Kingery started the season 1-for-3 and that was the highest his batting average would be all season. He would proceed to get just one hit over his next 25 at-bats with six strikeouts.  Kingery’s first of only two multi-hit games came against the Mets on August 16. He didn’t get his first extra-base hit until Game No. 25 in an 8-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

The highlight of Kingery’s season was a walk-off home run against the Braves on August 28. The three-run blast was his first of the season and raised his low RBI total from one to four. Entering September, Kingery was batting only .127 and showed little signs of life at the plate. Hitting safely in eight of the next 14 games played, with four doubles and two home runs, Kingery ended the season with a .159 batting average and .511 OPS.

Perhaps his defensive play could make up for deficiencies at the plate most of the season, but then again perhaps not. He committed four errors at second base in 25 games for a fielding percentage of .961, well below the league average of .978.

Kingery had an offensive WAR of -0.3 and a defensive WAR of -0.4. While Kingery’s salary increased by $250,000 from 2019, his production certainly dropped off a cliff and was a major disappointment for the Phillies.

The only thing that saved him from a grade of F was his walk-off home run against the Braves.  Kingery barely passes with a grade of D-.