Phillies' top prospect Scott Kingery among several struggling at the plate

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies would like to think that they will quickly rise to the top of the NL East when all their young players start hitting like expected.

That, of course, is the sticking point. The Phillies expect someone like prized phenom Scott Kingery to hit well. After all, they signed him to a six-year, $24 million contract upon promoting him to the major leagues less than a week before the season started based on that potential.

But Kingery has struggled for much of his first two months in the major leagues. Kingery wasn't in the starting lineup Friday when the Phillies opened a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Kingery did get into the game as part of a double-switch in the seventh inning of the Phillies' 6-5 loss. He walked and flied to right, and his batting average fell to .211. 

He is by no means alone in his struggles among Phillies players with less than a full year of major league experience.

Rhys Hoskins struck out looking with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, the Phillies trailing by a run. Afterward, he called it "unacceptable."

Still, the Phillies entered Saturday's game with a 28-20 record, and just one-half game behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.

"I don’t know if we anticipated when the ups and downs would occur," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said about Kingery. "But certainly, we didn’t anticipate it would be a gradual uphill climb to being the best player in baseball or of all time.

"It was one of those things where we saw greatness in spring training. We saw some explosiveness in the outset of the season with Scotty. There have been some bumps along the way and some adjustments that we’re very confident that he’s going to make."

The Phillies are leaning heavily on those young players. Of their eight regulars, four of them have a year or less of major league experience in Kingery, Hoskins, catcher Jorge Alfaro and shortstop J.P. Crawford, who's currently on the disabled list. There's also Nick Williams, the fourth outfielder, who plays on a semi-regular basis.

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But Kingery has just two homers and 14 RBIs. Both of his home runs were hit by April 9, and 12 of his RBIs came by April 15. At that point, Kingery was hitting .280 and his OPS was .855.

In 31 games since then, spanning 92 at-bats, Kingery is hitting .174 with no homers, two RBIs, and his OPS is .454.

"I've been working hard at it," Kingery said. "It's been a process, a little bit of baby steps. I feel more hitterish at the plate right now. Before, it was walking; I didn't feel as comfortable, or have the good feeling, just feeling like a hitter in the box."

Hoskins hit 18 homers in his first 50 games after his call-up last August. He has just six in 48 games this season. Still, Kapler wanted Hoskins up in the ninth inning with the bases loaded.

"He is just the guy that we want up in that situation going forward," Kapler said.

Catcher Jorge Alfaro is hitting .246, and that is actually an improvement from earlier in the month when he was right around the .200 mark. He struck out three times Friday before singling to center in the ninth. He has 52 strikeouts in 118 at-bats.

Williams is hitting .226 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 91 at-bats.

And yet, they all have strengths that are showing through their struggles. Kapler was asked about Kingery's defense at shortstop, where he has played almost exclusively since Crawford went on the DL April 29 with a right forearm strain.

Kingery had never played shortstop in the minor leagues.

"I personally think it’s really good," Kapler said. "It’s a work in progress because he doesn’t have a whole lot of reps there over the long haul. I think athletically he’s doing a great job. I think he’s got everything it takes to be a good shortstop in this league."

Kapler has also raved about Alfaro's ability at catcher, going so far as to compare his defense to Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez earlier this week.

Alfaro has thrown out 10 base stealers this season, tied for the most in the majors, and his percentage is at 33.3 percent. But Alfaro has thrown out 8 of his last 12 runners attempting to steal, including Teoscar Hernandez in the third inning Friday on a throw clocked at 89.1 mph. Alfaro is the only catcher to be clocked at 89 mph or above this season. 

Hoskins' on-base percentage is still at .376, a byproduct of drawing 34 walks, third in the National League.

Through it all, the Phillies are still winning. It's easy to wonder what will happen when the young players like Kingery and Hoskins start hitting again. Kapler, for one, is confident that will happen soon.

"In watching his most recent at-bats, I’m seeing a lot of progress," Kapler said about Kingery. "His swings in the cage have gotten better, and he feels more confident now than he was four or five days ago. Things are moving in the right direction with Scotty."

Notes

Kapler said pitcher Jerad Eickhoff underwent further testing after feeling tingling in his fingers while rehabbing from a right lat strain. Kapler said there is no plan as to when Eickhoff will resume throwing. He hasn't pitched this season because of a right lat strain ... Kapler said Crawford isn't ready yet to start a rehab assignment.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.

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