Phillies promote Scott Kingery to triple A

PHOENIX — There was nothing left for Scott Kingery at double-A Reading, so the Phillies finally promoted their emerging second baseman to triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to a source.

Kingery will join the IronPigs on Monday. He'll be a part of an infield that includes Rhys Hoskins and J.P. Crawford. The Phillies have hopes that all three of those players will one day form a nucleus in the majors.

CSNPhilly.com first reported the news of Kingery's promotion. The prospect was informed of the promotion after he collected three more hits Sunday afternoon for Reading.

Kingery hit .313 with a .380 on-base percentage and .608 slugging percentage in 316 plate appearances at Reading. He impressed club officials in the spring with how he handled his first taste of big-league camp. That carried into the regular season.

The Arizona product is 23 years old, but he does not have to be protected this winter from selection in the Rule 5 draft. That could affect whether the Phillies push him this September to the majors, provided he performs well at triple A. Still, Kingery is on track for a regular job sometime in 2018.

Jeremy Hellickson recorded a season-high seven strikeouts in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Arizona. He walked none. He has permitted two runs in his last 13 innings, and he has pitched like someone who knows he can escape the worst team in baseball with a good month leading up to July's trade deadline.

"Let's just keep pitching like this and see what happens," Hellickson said.

Hellickson is a different pitcher when he misses more bats. Diamondbacks hitters whiffed at 14 of Hellickson's 95 pitches. Five of the seven strikeouts were on his change-up, a pitch that Hellickson said played better because of improved life on his fastball.

The Phillies shopped Hellickson last summer and did not find an offer that suited their requirements. They are more motivated to move him this summer. It's unclear what sort of market could emerge for the veteran righthander.

"I would like to be here for when things start to turn around," Hellickson said, "but at the same time it's always fun to play in October."

Luis Garcia fired two scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.00. He has not allowed a run in each of his last eight appearances. … Jerad Eickhoff (strained back) reported no issues after a bullpen session Sunday morning, but the Phillies could still opt to again skip him in the rotation. They'll make a decision Monday. Mark Leiter Jr. would start opposite Seattle's Felix Hernandez on Wednesday if Eickhoff is not activated. … Zack Greinke, who has a career 2.54 ERA against the Phillies in 60 1/3 innings, will start Monday's matinee for Arizona. Nick Pivetta pitches for the Phillies.

Reading days

Scott Kingery spent less time at double-A Reading than some of the more prominent players who have passed through there in the last 15 years. Here's a list of players, by their amount of plate appearances at Reading:

Dylan Cozens - 630
Jimmy Rollins - 598
Rhys Hoskins - 589
J.P. Crawford - 571
Scott Kingery - 483
Domonic Brown - 433
Ryan Howard - 433
Maikel Franco - 292