Phillies Scott Kingery: Has he done enough to be drafted in fantasy?

Scott Kingery is on an absolute tear this spring for the Phillies. But, has the top-prospect done enough to be a draftable option?

With most fantasy drafts taking place this week and into the weekend, fantasy owners are starting to see clearer pictures for most draftable players. Outside of division-mate Ronald Acuna, the Phillies’, Scott Kingery, has made a ton of noise this spring with his glove and bat.

But, is the top prospect worth a draft pick?

Kingery was a second-round pick by the Phillies in 2015 out of the University of Arizona. He hit the ground running in the minors, posting a .281/5 HR/46 RBI/30 SB/.723 OPS line at high A and AA in 2016. Then followed that with a breakout .304/26 HR/65 RBI/29 SB/.889 OPS line at AA and AAA in 2017.

More from Fantasy Baseball

The first thing that jumps off the page is the HR/SB combo that Kingery showed last season. Everyone knows that SB producers are becoming non-existent in the majors nowadays, so to see a guy flirt with 30 HR/30 SB line, it is impressive.

His 26 HR outburst was five times his career best of five in 2016. Yet he maintained his knack for XBH, notching over 28 for the third straight year. All in all, it was the type of performance that establishes his stock as the best second-base prospect in the game.

Digging deeper into his batted ball profile, Kingery raised his LD rate up to a career-best 20%, as was his 46% FB rate. He made offensive strides across the board, and he is beginning to grow into the power that some scouts have projected.

He also stayed consistent all year as well versus righties and lefties. Against lefties, .307/11 HR/24 RBI, and against righties, .303/15 HR/41 RBI. There were few areas not to like in the way he performed last season.

The only step back that Kingery took was in his plate discipline. His BB rate dropped to only 5%, as his K rate climbed to 18%. He has never been one to take many walks, but a 2.6 K to BB ratio needs to be tweaked.

Which brings us to this spring.

Over the course of 43 plate appearances, Kingery has posted a cool .390/4 HR/7 RBI/4 SB/1.150 OPS line. He has easily been the Phillies’ standout player and has forced the team to at least think about making the jump to MLB once spring ends.

Now that is unlikely to happen thanks to the MLB service time rules and such, putting him on track to be with the club after April 13. However, the team is trying Kingery at third, short, and even in center field.

Incumbents Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez, and J.P. Crawford are in the way, but all players in that group could easily be replaced by Kingery at any time. Also, neither of the established group has higher than a .250 AVG this spring, only furthering Kingery nipping at their heels.

Next: Fantasy Baseball: What to make of the Cardinals' bullpen?

With Kingery’s performance this spring, and the massive strides he has taken power wise, he should certainly be in the discussion as a late-round flier for owners. The 30 SB potential and 10-15 HR type of production will be hard to come by this season for most fantasy owners, cementing Kingery as the type of lottery ticket to target.

Do not be afraid to take Scott Kingery late in drafts.

Home/Fantasy Baseball