Meghan Montemurro

The News Journal

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Every spring there tends to be a player who emerges in camp, delivering a performance that enthralls the team and fans.

For the Phillies this year, second baseman Scott Kingery, has been that guy. He has made stellar defensive plays, hit for power and shown speed on the bases.

Although he's yet to play above Double-A Reading, he has been treated like any other young player in the Phillies' clubhouse.

First baseman Tommy Joseph is trying to create a fun handshake for the two to use, centered on Kingery's nickname "Scotty Jetpax."

"Nothing that's camera worthy yet," Joseph joked. "Still in the trial stages."

Kingery picked up the nickname at the University of Arizona. He stole home in a game after which a teammate proclaimed he was so fast it appeared he was wearing jetpacks. The nickname stuck. He even uses it for his Twitter handle (@ScottyJetpax25). That's where Joseph first learned of it and he's taken to calling Kingery "Jetpax" ever since.

Kingery, 22, is exactly the kind of player any Phillies fan should want to embrace.

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Between the unique nickname and his style of play, it's fun to imagine how he'd fit in the Phillies' infield. The reality, though, is that even with his strong performance – 6 for 16 (.375), two home runs, three RBIs, five runs scored and a stolen base in seven games – Kingery is still likely a year away from having a real shot at making the team.

In the meantime, Kingery's performance has the potential to create unreasonable expectations, both in his readiness for Major League Baseball and how good he can be if he makes it to the big leagues. That's one of the pitfalls of exhibition games, where players aren't always going up against major-league caliber opponents.

"That's the hardest part when you have success in spring training like this, you almost start to believe that you're able to do this every day so you have to find a way to stay humble through it," Joseph said. "He's going to get sent down at some point, right? So everybody's going to wonder, 'Why isn't he going to make the team?' Come on, he's got to get more experience. But I think it can do nothing but help his confidence."

When manager Pete Mackanin has trotted out prospect-laden lineups this spring, he makes sure to sit back and enjoy watching what the young guys can do. It often presents one of Mackanin's, and fans', only opportunities to watch the prospects at this stage in their careers.

Mackanin has liked what Kingery's shown through the first 10 Grapefruit League games and believes he's capable of being a good MLB player. However, he cautioned reading too much into a player's numbers.

"The only issue I have is when a young guy starts doing extremely well in the spring then all of you media people start asking me if he's going to make the team," Mackanin said, laughing.

"The old saying is: Don't judge a guy on his spring training performance or September call-up performance. ... Everybody's looking for that future star player."

This isn't meant to diminish anyone's excitement at seeing prospects like Kingery or Nick Williams play well this spring. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Envision them being part of the Phillies' next World Series championship team.

Just don't let two weeks of good play create unrealistic expectations. Keep it in perspective.

Contact Meghan Montemurro at mmontemurro@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @M_Montemurro.