The Last Dance: It’s time to give Scott Kingery the storybook ending he deserves

Scott Kingery has been on an absolute tear this season in Triple A Leigh Valley. While flashes of Jetpax SZN have become a common occurrence over the past few seasons, the question remains…Will he ever get a shot to play again for the Philadelphia Phillies?

If I had to guess, probably not, however he continues to make a strong case to be added to the 40-man roster. Kingery crushed his 11th homer last night and now is up to 27 RBI with seven bags swiped over 45 games this season.

Scott Kingery is batting .252 with a .836 OPS this season. Again, he has 11 home runs, 27 RBI, and 7 stolen bases with 38 hits and 30 runs scored over 151 at-bats. 

Scott Kingery Home Run (11)  

Stop us if you’ve heard this before…Scott Kingery has left the yard 💣 pic.twitter.com/jtu1W7fZJC

— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) May 31, 2024

Scott Kingery is on FIRE in Leigh Valley which means full steam ahead on one final Jetpax SZN

As we all know, Kingery can play literally anywhere on the baseball field and you would have to think that he’s a better option than whatever else is clogging up roster spots on the Phillies’ 40-man roster. 

To Be Clear: Rodolfo Castro, Darick Hall and Jose Rodriguez are not doing anything at the major league level for the Phillies this season – and honestly, they won’t do anything in the future either. 

There’s really no reason why Jetpax SZN shouldn’t get another shot at the major league level. He earned $8.25 million last season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Kingery was set to make $13 million in 2024 if the Phillies exercised their team option. Instead, he was handed a $1 million buyout from the Phillies, while still remaining with the organization in 2024 now that his contract reverts to the seven-year deal he signed after getting drafted in 2015.

Last season in Lehigh Valley, Kingery slashed .244/.325/.400 with 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 68 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases over 117 games. While the average wasn’t impressive, Kingery did go on an absolute warpath in the month of June last season. 

June 2023 (21 Games): .343 AVG with a .754 OPS. 24 Hits, 7 Doubles, 3 Home Runs, and 9 RBI. Through the first seven games of July, Kingery hit .292 with a 1.083 OPS. He notched seven hits in 24 at-bats with three doubles, two triples, and three home runs, totaling 8 RBI over that span. 

Spring Training 2023: Last year in Spring Training, Kingery slashed .340/.415/.447 with an .862 OPS. He notched 16 hits and touched base 21 times, with two doubles, a home run, five walks, and four RBI. 

All I’m saying – is that the Philadelphia Phillies should consider getting Kingery on the 40-man roster. From there, who knows what could happen? Personally, I think it would be a storybook ending to Jetpax SZN that fans like myself have long been waiting for. 

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