Top Philadelphia Phillies Prospect Could be Scotland's First MLB Player in 35 Years
Philadelphia Phillies outfield prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr.'s first season of professional baseball met its end last week, when his Scottsdale Scorpions were eliminated from the Arizona Fall League, dropping the league's semifinal game 12-9 to the Peoria Javelinas.
The game appeared to be in the bag for the Scorpions, when Scottsdale took a 9-0 lead in the first inning. The Javelinas, however, had other plans, as they shut out the Scorpions over the next eight innings, and completed an improbable comeback, scoring 12 unanswered runs and reaching the AFL championship game.
Rincones Jr. was selected by the Phillies in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft, out of Florida Atlantic University. Injuries kept Rincones on the shelf for all of 2022, but the 22 year-old made his pro debut earlier this year, skipping Rookie ball altogether. Across 120 games between High-A Jersey Shore and Low-A Clearwater, Rincones slashed .248/.351/.778 and tallied 15 home runs and 60 RBI.
Upon the conclusion of his minor league season, Rincones got some extra reps, playing in the AFL, where he excelled. In 22 games with the Scorpions, Rincones batted .293 with a .426 On Base Percentage, .889 OPS, two home runs and 14 RBI. Rincones' stellar play earned him a spot in the Fall Stars Game and the AFL Home Run Derby.
Rincones' background is different from most players. His father, Gabriel Rincones Sr. was born in Venezuela and played minor league baseball in the Seattle Mariners organization. After transitioning out of baseball, Rincones Sr. took a job in Scotland, where Rincones Jr. spent much of his childhood. Rincones was born in Boynton Beach, Florida, and returned to the Sunshine State for high school, but Rincones spent many of his formative years in Braveheart Country.
The last Scottish player to don a Major League uniform was pitcher Tom Waddell, who last pitched in a game in 1987. Waddell is one of only seven players to have been born in Scotland to reach the Major Leagues. Prior to Waddelll, it was Bobby Thomson, who last played in 1960. Before Thomson, the last Scottish-born player was George Chalmers, whose career wrapped up after the 1916 season.
Needless to say, very few Major League players have come from Scotland. Rincones may not have been born there, and he may not be of Scottish descent, but the young outfielder still calls Scotland his home and is able to break into his Scottish accent on command. The accent will occasionally come out.
Moments after his Scottsdale team was eliminated from contention last week, I sat down for an exclusive conversation with Rincones Jr. about his unique upbringing, his first year in the Phillies organization, his Christian faith, his experiences playing in the Arizona Fall League, and much, much more!
Jack: You grew up in Scotland. Were you able to watch any Nickelodeon shows as a kid?
Gabriel: Yep.
Jack: What was your favorite Nickelodeon show?
Gabriel: Spongebob’s Nickelodeon, right? I love Spongebob. Peppa Pig’s not Nickelodeon, is it?
Jack: I think it is.
Gabriel: My little sister and I would watch Peppa Pig, but nobody has to know that (laughs). It was entertaining.
Jack: Alright, we’ll cross that part out of this Q&A.
Gabriel: You can put it in (laughs).
Jack: What are some of your favorite movies?
Gabriel: The Passion of the Christ is a big time favorite of mine. War movies — I’m into those war movies. I love them, like Fury. Hurt Locker was weird. I didn’t like the ending of that one.
Jack: Yeah, it’s a sad movie.
Gabriel: It was weird how he went back to being a bomb guy, but like, he was already at home with his wife. He just couldn’t leave it behind.
Jack: Yeah, he was obsessed. Well I love that you mentioned The Passion of the Christ. I’m a man of faith too. I actually noticed in your Instagram bio – I wanted to ask you about this – you put “Jesus, sleep, Chipotle”. Why is that in your Instagram bio?
Gabriel: That’s pretty much my priorities right there, ya know? (Laughs) Jesus is my number one and my Lord and Savior, and I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be alive, nobody would be existing, if it wasn’t for him. And I’m more than happy to put him at the number one in my life. That’s who deserves it most.
Jack: Do you have a favorite Bible verse?
Gabriel: No. All of them. People ask me, if I were to get a tattoo, “Would you get a Bible verse?” I’m like, there’s too many. It’s the answers to life in one giant book, so I’d get “Yeshua” or “Yahweh” tattooed on me because He’s HIM.
Jack: Amen. So, you grew up in Scotland. What was that like?
Gabriel: It was home for a long time. I mean, I grew up there, I’m still in touch with my buddies, and whenever I go back, my accent just comes out naturally. And I love it there. Obviously when you call a place home, it’s going to always be home for you. And home for me now is here because I had to move on and my buddies did too, but I’m still in touch with those guys.
Jack: Why Scotland? Why did you grow up out there?
Gabriel: My dad’s job. He’s a safety adviser for the oil rigs, Sabre Safety I think. There’s a toxic gas that comes up with the oil, so he provides guidance on how to use the equipment, so that took us to Scotland.
Jack: And he played a little bit of minor league baseball too?
Gabriel: Yeah, pitcher. He threw a 95-mph fastball, knuckle-curve and a changeup. Back in ‘85, 95mph was like today’s 100mph.
Jack: Has he been able to teach you some stuff?
Gabriel: Since he was a pitcher, it was more of like mental toughness. He still plays. The guy is jacked and fit, but he wasn’t like a professional hitter. Hitting is 90% mental, so that is more helpful than anything hitting-wise that he could have told me, so I’m glad that he did that.
Jack: Your Fall League experience is over, unfortunately. How did you enjoy it out here?
Gabriel: It was great. That’s all I really want, to be exposed to the best at my level and Lord-willingly, the best in the big leagues. You get exposed to the best, and you’re going to have to adapt or die. Get eaten or feast at the plate. I’m glad that I got to be a part of the minor leagues’ best and excel on my part.
Jack: Tough loss tonight. Have you ever seen a game like this before?
Gabriel: Not really. First inning, come out hot. It wasn’t like, “Oh, we got this in the bag.” It wasn’t like that at all. These guys can hit and they can pitch, and this is baseball.
Jack: Was there anything that you really wanted to work on out here in the Fall League?
Gabriel: Keeping an approach, sticking with one stance, swing, because I struggle with that. Not chase numbers, but play the game right. It was more mental stuff than anything. Because if you chase numbers, that’s mental. That’s going to put you in a hole.
Jack: How do you like being a part of the Phillies organization?
Gabriel: I love it. They gave me the opportunity and there’s nobody that I would rather be with. Things happen. Baseball is business sometimes, but I’ll say the Phillies is the org for me for now. I’ll ride or die for them.
Jack: You were out here during their playoff run this time. Last year, you weren’t playing out here, but have you gotten to watch a bunch of their playoff games over the last couple of years?
Gabriel: I was in rehab last year watching them, because I got drafted and then went straight to rehab. But I mean, they’re an exciting team. And I enjoyed watching them, as I think everybody did. The stuff they did in the playoffs is exciting, but until I’m part of the team, I don’t really keep track of them.
Jack: Have you gotten to talk to any of those big league guys and learn from them?
Gabriel: I talked to Schwarber at spring training and had a pretty cool moment in spring training where I could come in late in the game for the guys and Hoskins was still in there and Castellanos was still in the lineup. I did something cool, I came back in the dugout, and those guys were waiting for me, so that’s all good stuff for visualization on my own time.
Jack: You went to FAU. Were you enjoying their March madness run last spring?
Gabriel: Oh yeah. They went nuts. I don’t really keep track of much other than my own progress out on the field and hitting, but it was fun hearing, “Oh, FAU won again! FAU did that! FAU did that!” I was like, “Let’s go Owls!”
Jack: How did you enjoy playing in the Fall Stars Game?
Gabriel: It was fun. I probably got out of my approach with the whole mental part of not chasing numbers. I mean, who doesn’t want to go yard? I didn’t really play the game right, but it was a cool experience being a part of that, it’s always fun.
Jack: Who was your favorite player as a kid, other than your father?
Gabriel: Oh yeah. My dad is probably the reason why I really wanted to play, but other than him, Barry Bonds. I watched a lot of A-Rod videos. Because it wasn’t like they had baseball over there, it was just like YouTube videos. And I still wanted to see and play baseball, but I couldn’t, so I would look up MLB highlights and A-Rod was one of them. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, too. Barry Bonds was my number one.
Jack: Alright, last one. MLB pitcher you’d most like to face?
Gabriel: Most like to face?
Jack: Yeah.
Gabriel: Maybe (Aroldis) Chapman or anybody that throws above like 103mph.
Jack: So you like the heat?
Gabriel: I just want to get comfortable with the MLB’s best. Whatever the top 1% of the MLB pitch, I want to face that, ya know?
