A day after being honored at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies' top minor-league position player of 2017, Scott Kingery on Tuesday won a minor-league Gold Glove award.
Kingery converted 98.9 percent of his defensive chances at second base this season, committing just six errors in 529 opportunities.
The award punctuates an extremely impressive all-around season from the 23-year-old Kingery, who spent half the season with Double A Reading and the other half with Triple A Lehigh Valley. He hit .304/.359/.530 over 603 plate appearances with 29 doubles, 8 triples, 26 homers, 65 RBIs, 103 runs and 29 steals in 34 attempts.
Kingery isn't far away from the majors, but as you've likely read or heard, the Phillies will gain an extra year of team control if they keep him in the minors until mid-late May in 2018. The Phils went a similar route with Maikel Franco in 2015, keeping him in the minors until May 15.
Of Kingery's 132 starts this season, 112 came at second base. He also started four games at third base and two at shortstop at Triple A as the Phillies sought more positional flexibility.
When Kingery eventually arrives in the majors, it could come at the expense of Franco, who just hasn't hit enough to stave off high-upside players like Kingery and J.P. Crawford. Defensively, Crawford has acquitted himself well so far at third base in the majors.
