Phillies' Bryson Stott is Not the Next Scott Kingery

Relax, Philadelphia Phillies' top prospect Bryson Stott will not be another failed experiment like Scott Kingery.

Lauren Amour | Mar 30, 2022

Philadelphia Phillies' top prospect Bryson Stott got another start over at third base on Wednesday, and it's allowed two questions to arise ahead of Opening Day on April 8:

1. Is Stott being set up to be another failed project like Scott Kingery?

2. What is the fate of 2018 first round pick Alec Bohm?

Stott has come up through the system as a shortstop, but with Bohm's defensive struggles at the hot corner and inability to consistently produce at the plate have caused manager Joe Girardi to consider playing Stott there.

Additionally, Didi Gregorius—who was previously told he'd have to compete with Stott for Opening Day shortstop—has performed well this spring. He's belted a couple home runs, driven in a few runners, and owns a .924 OPS in eight games thus far. He's also made some decent defensive plays over at short, something he grappled with in 2021.

“Didi’s playing well, but we’re still looking at everything,” Girardi told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “Didi looks great. The ball’s coming off his bat. His defense has been good."

The 24-year-old Stott has impressed as well, displaying maturity at the plate, collecting a home run, three RBI, and a 1.331 OPS. Meanwhile, Bohm has batted just .095 in eight games this spring. This would make Bohm the odd one out of the trio. This potentially makes him trade bait, or means he could begin the 2022 season in the minors.

As Bohm hasn't run away with the job like the Phillies had hoped, and offseason pick-up Johan Camargo is thought to be more of a bench guy, the team has begun to heavily consider moving forward with Gregorius at shortstop and Stott at third for Opening Day.

Stott's 6'3", 200 lbs. build and limited range has already called into question his future as a shortstop at the major league level. It was never out of the realm of possibility that Stott would eventually move to a different position following his debut in the majors. However, this has generated some concern that the Phillies will "ruin" Stott just as they did former top prospect, Scott Kingery.

Kingery was labeled a second baseman as he came up through the Phillies' system, but once he reached the big league club, then manager Gabe Kapler and the organization decided to play him nearly everywhere—right field, left field, center field, third base, and shortstop. It's long been hypothesized that this was part of why Kingery fell hard and fast following 2019.

USATSI_15697149 — © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The club potentially moving Stott around has amounted to reasonable concern among the masses. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Stott is a different player than Kingery, and Philadelphia's player development staff has undergone plenty of changes since Kingery's downfall—including the hiring of Director of Player Development Preston Mattingly, who's resumé in MLB has been solid thus far.

They've also hired infield coach Bobby Dickerson and hitting coach Kevin Long in that time, both decent upgrades who have respected track records throughout the league that will ensure Stott stays on track and doesn't suffer the same fate as the 27-year-old Kingery, whom the Phillies signed to a six-year, $24 million contract before he played a single MLB game.

“Bobby [Dickerson] always says it—we’re not infielders, we catch the ball,” Stott said. “I don’t mind going to either position. I mean, obviously, like I said, I have to catch the ball and throw it to Rhys [Hoskins] or whoever’s playing first. He’s got to catch it from me, so it doesn’t really matter to me where I play. I just want to get up there and help this team win. If that’s somewhere other than shortstop then that’s what it is.”

Although speculative, Kingery's contract, along with numerous Chase Utley comparisons, ultimately set him up to fail. He had unreasonable expectations placed on him before he even made his debut, and that is something Stott hasn't experienced. Sure, he's the club's top prospect and has appeared on multiple 'top 100 prospects' lists, but the Phillies have been cautious with him, and he hasn't been compared to one of the most beloved Phillies of all-time. Right now, he's just focused on making the major league roster and helping the team who drafted him 14th overall in 2019.

“Obviously I want to get to the big leagues and help this team any way I can,” Stott said. “If it’s at third, short or wherever it may be, it’s obviously not up to me. I’m going to catch the ball wherever I play.”

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Published Mar 30, 2022

LAUREN AMOUR

Lauren Amour is Deputy Editor for FanNation's 'Inside the Phillies,' part of Sports Illustrated. Lauren formerly covered the Phillies for SB Nation's The Good Phight. Lauren is a graduate of Rider University in New Jersey.