From Scottish Roots to Baseball Dreams: Gabriel Rincones Jr.'s Inspiring Ascent to Phillies' Prospect

Fightin' Phils outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. was cut from his high school baseball team in his first two years. Now, he's the Phillies' No. 11 prospect.

After two seasons at St. Petersburg Junior College, Rincones Jr. was drafted late by the San Diego Padres in 2021 (19th round, 580th overall). He chose not to sign and instead transferred to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to boost his chances.

In just one season at FAU, Rincones Jr. delivered impressive stats: a .346/.451/.658 slash line, a 1.110 OPS, 82 hits—including 17 doubles, 19 home runs, and 69 RBIs—in 58 games. He was named the 2022 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year.

This performance landed him a third-round pick by the Phillies in the 2022 MLB Draft. His journey to professional baseball, though, was anything but typical. Born in Boynton Beach, Florida, he spent his early years in Venezuela before moving to Glenrothes, Scotland, where he spent the latter part of his childhood.

His father, Gabriel Rincones Sr., was a minor league pitcher for the Seattle Mariners in 1997. After his playing days, Rincones Sr. took a job as an offshore safety adviser in the oil industry, which uprooted his family to Glenrothes.

In Scotland, where baseball was scarce, Rincones Jr. didn’t play organized baseball. Instead, he took up swimming and judo. “My buddies would make fun of me for bringing up baseball,” Rincones Jr. recalled.

Determined to pursue baseball, Rincones Jr. moved back to the U.S. with his aunt and uncle to attend American high school at Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. There, he realized his skills lagged behind those of his peers who had been playing baseball all their lives.

“I was very angry and bitter that I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be… I knew I could play, I knew I was good enough, I just wasn’t as good as I was in my own head. For the first few years of high school, I didn’t talk to anyone, mostly because I was mad at myself,” Rincones Jr. told Rachel Steinberg of PA Media.

Fast forward to today, Rincones Jr. is nearing the end of his second full professional season in the Phillies' system. The summer after signing, he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Nonetheless he made his pro debut on April 7, 2023, with Low-A Clearwater, skipping rookie ball entirely. He was named the Phillies’ Minor League Player of the Month for April 2023, hitting .268/.409/.521 with 19 hits, six doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, 14 walks, and 13 stolen bases.

Promoted to High-A Jersey Shore on June 12, Rincones Jr. ranked among all Phillies minor leaguers as T-1st in doubles (31), 2nd in runs (81), T-3rd in stolen bases (32), 7th in walks (61), and 10th in RBIs (60).

Rincones Jr. started the 2024 season scorching hot with Double-A Reading, boasting a .600 slugging percentage with 15 hits, including three doubles and four home runs, through 13 games. Despite a torn ligament in his right thumb on April 24, he returned to the Fightins’ lineup on July 20. Since then, he’s hit seven more home runs, driven in 16 runs, and scored 17 times. He leads the team in slugging (.544) and is tied for third in home runs (11).

“If I were to put my journey on paper and read it to myself, I’d be like, ‘wow.’ You can’t really think about something like that,” Rincones Jr. said. “I’m very stubborn. You tell me I can’t do something, I guarantee you I’m going to eventually do it.”