Philadelphia Phillies prospect Scott Kingery has seen an explosion of power recently. (Frank Klose/Sports Talk Philly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies may be on pace for over 100 loses, but they continue to get positive signs from their minor league affiliates.
Scott Kingery, who MLB Pipeline says is the Phillies' No. 11 prospect, currently has 14 home runs, which puts him in a tie with veteran Jamie Romak for the most home runs at any level of the minor leagues. Future Hall of Famer Mike Trout (it's safe to say that now, right?) and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge are the only players in professional baseball that have more home runs, with 15.
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The 23-year-old second baseman is a surprising name to see on this list. Kingery was one of the team's standouts during his brief time in major league camp this Spring Training, but more because he fielded well and hit for contact, in a Dustin Pedroia type way, than because he looked like a slugger. In fact, in 586 at-bats between Clearwater and Reading in 2016, Kingery hit just five home runs. Last week alone, en route to winning the Eastern League Player of the Week Award, Kingery hit five home runs and posted an .833 slugging percentage.
While Kingery's time at the top of the minor league home run leaderboard will likely be short-lived, it is nice that he seems to have developed more power. Given the strong start that Cesar Hernandez has had in 2017, it's unclear who will be the team's long-term second baseman, but Kingery figures to work himself into some starting position soon if he continues to hit as well as he has.
Last season, Dylan Cozens won the Joe Bauman Home Run Award, which is given to the minor leaguer who has the most home runs across any level. Because Cozens, then with Double-A Reading, hit 40 home runs, he was awarded $8,000, because the award gives the recipient $200 per home run (h/t Mike Drago). Cozens got off to a slow start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he's slashing .311/.366/.689 in May with eight home runs and an OPS of 1.055. Cozens entered Wednesday with 12 home runs on the season, which puts him in a six-way tie for the third most minor league home runs this season.
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One of the five players he's tied with at 12 home runs is his teammate, Rhys Hoskins. The 24-year-old first baseman may have been outshined slightly by Cozens last year at Double-A Reading, but in his first experience with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Hoskins has been a tremendous success. The former fifth-round pick is slashing .318/.411/.649 this season, with the aforementioned 12 home runs and 36 RBIs, which are tied for the 10th most RBIs at any level of the minor leagues in 2017.
Even though Kingery is likely to fade from the home run leaderboard, he projects to be a very complete second baseman at the big league level, especially if he has developed some more power. Cozens and Hoskins aren't likely to fade power wise, which leads you to think that next summer, they may be hitting in the middle of the Phillies lineup, with Kingery already on base.
