READING, Pa. — Standing all of 5-10, 180 pounds, Phillies prospect Scott Kingery doesn't look much like a professional ballplayer. Then again, neither did Dustin Pedroia.

Kingery has a long way to go before he can be compared to an American League MVP and two-time world champion with the Boston Red Sox, but they do have a few things in common. Both had to overcome perceptions about their stature. Both play second base. And both played their college baseball in the state of Arizona, where the Phoenix native began following the career of the 11th-year major leaguer.

"I've never really sat down and picked a player I model my game after, but I did watch Dustin Pedroia growing up," Kingery revealed Tuesday, adding that he sees a little bit of himself in the four-time All-Star.

"He hustles every day, runs everything out, just gives it his all and leaves everything out on the field. That's something I take pride in is giving it 110 percent all the time. If there's a ground ball to shortstop that should be an easy play, I run as fast as I can down to first base and try to beat it out or make them rush it, maybe make them throw it away and somehow get on base."

That mentality has helped Kingery go from college walk-on to second-round draft pick moving through the Phillies' farm system with relative ease. It took the righty swinger a little more than a year's time to reach Double A — and it hasn't taken him very long to get acclimated either.

Since going 0 for 3 in his Reading debut, Kingery entered Tuesday night in the midst of a 10-for-26 run (.385) over his last six games. That builds on the solid season the 22-year-old was enjoying at High A, where he wrapped up his time with a .293 batting average and .360 on-base percentage.

"I was swinging it a little bit down in Clearwater before I came up here and started to get hot, and it's just carrying over," Kingery said. "Everything I've been working on throughout this year has really fallen into place and helped me."

Kingery notices the difference in talent at the next level, but the competition hasn't seemed to slow him down any.

"The pitchers here definitely have really good command of the plate and what they can do is spread your eyes, open the zone a little bit and make you swing at some stuff that you shouldn't," Kingery said. "They kind of let you get yourself out instead of having to strike you out.

"Up here the talent is definitely better. You see it in the speed of the runners and quickness of the game and the command that the pitchers have."

"He's an exciting player," Reading manager Dusty Wathan said. "A lot of energy, runs well, really good range at second base, good arm, turns a good double play, has been a nice bat to put in the top of our lineup. It's exciting that a guy can get here as quick as he has from last year's draft.

"He's got a bright a future. I like to watch him."

Rated the 14th-best prospect in the Phillies' organization by MLB.com Pipeline, Kingery is a prototypical leadoff hitter. He doesn't hit for very much power, but he has a short swing, makes good contact and uses the whole field.

Most of all, he takes the right approach to being at the top of the order.

"My goal is just to reach base any way I can," Kingery said. "If that's a hit, a walk, a hit by pitch or an error, I'm just trying to get on base and get myself into scoring position, then let the middle of the order drive me in.

"Out of the leadoff spot, I won't be the big RBI guy, but my goal is to score as many runs as possible, so when I'm up at the plate, I'm trying to just have a short swing and spray the ball all over the field."

Kingery also possesses outstanding speed, so while he may not get a ton of extra-base hits, he has other means of reaching second or third. He arrived in Reading with 26 steals on the year and is closing in on his goal of 40 with about a month left to play.

"I felt like 40 was a good number for me," Kingery said. "Twenty a half, or if I had a little bit more in the first half that would've been fine. I definitely set that goal just to make myself run a little bit more and get a number that was high enough, but not too high that I couldn't reach."

It's the one area in which perhaps Kingery has not excelled right away in Double A, as he has failed to record a steal up to this point.

"Every time I've ran, the balls are put in play, so that works out, too," Kingery said. "But the pitchers here, they hold you on a little bit. They're quick to the plate, they slide-step, so I've just got to figure that out and pick spots to run."

The Phillies are currently lacking a proven everyday second baseman in the big leagues, nor is there anybody beating down the door for that spot at Triple A. That means if Kingery can continue climbing through the farm at this rapid pace, there's a chance he could be auditioning for the job as early as sometime in 2017.

At least nothing has been able to stop him yet.

"Hopefully if I just do my best and play my game," Kingery said, "then things will fall into place."