Phillies' Kingery stays hot with three hits

No. 35 overall prospect goes yard, doubles, reaches four times

Scott Kingery batted .304 with 26 home runs over 132 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year. (John Raoux/AP)

March 27, 2018

Scott Kingery gave the Phillies a quick return on their investment.Kingery -- the organization's No. 2 prospect and the No. 35 prospect in baseball -- signed the largest guaranteed contract for a player without Major League experience Sunday and then went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk

Scott Kingery gave the Phillies a quick return on their investment.
Kingery -- the organization's No. 2 prospect and the No. 35 prospect in baseball -- signed the largest guaranteed contract for a player without Major League experience Sunday and then went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk to lead Philadelphia to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in Grapefruit League action at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida.

Kingery's solo dinger -- his fifth homer of the spring -- came in the top of the third inning on a 1-0 count against right-hander Trevor Williams and extended the Phillies' lead to 4-0.

The 2015 second-rounder, who batted third and played right field, signed a six-year contract for $24 million that has the potential to be worth $65 million with vesting team options over the ensuing three years. Kingery's deal surpassed the one Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg signed for $15.1 million over four years.
"It's just unbelievable to be in a moment like this," he said at a Monday morning press conference. "With the guys we've got in this clubhouse, it's a really exciting time. For me, there is a lot of excitement to get up to Philly and get this thing started."
Kingery has had a torrid spring with the big league club -- the three-hit performance gave him a .418/.448/.800 slash line with 10 extra-base knocks, eight RBIs and four steals across 21 games.
After splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A last season, the 23-year-old Arizona product is expected to break camp with Philadelphia following the team's Spring Training finale Tuesday.
No. 37 overall prospect J.P. Crawford went 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored.
Philadelphia's No. 28 prospect, Vìctor Arano, threw a scoreless inning of relief in the fifth, allowing only a single by Adam Frazier.

In other spring action:
Astros 5, Brewers 2 (Box)
Kyle Tucker hammered a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to push his team to the win. The fifth homer of the spring for Houston's No. 2 prospect came in his only plate appearance of the night.
Cardinals 5, Blue Jays 3 (Box)
Tenth-ranked St. Louis prospect Max Schrock went 2-for-2 with an RBI triple while Randy Arozarena (No. 11) stole two bags and Yairo Muñoz (No. 12) singled and scored a run. Getting another taste of big league camp, Toronto's two prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette combined to go 0-for-4.
Yankees 5, Braves 1 (Box)
Ben Heller, New York's No. 11 prospect, allowed a walk and notched a strikeout in the ninth in the victory. Atlanta's 15th-ranked prospect A.J. Minter fanned two in a perfect sixth.
Angels 4, Dodgers 1 (Box)
Serving as designated hitter, top overall prospect Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 for the Angels. No. 13 Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux drew a walk.
Athletics 9, Giants 2 (10 innings) (Box)
Tenth-ranked San Francisco prospect Andrew Suárez finished on a good note. The left-hander didn't allow a hit in one scoreless inning of relief, his second straight outing without allowing a run.