Star Philadelphia Phillies Prospect Focused on Bolstering One Side of Ball in AFL

With the AFL underway, Philadelphia Phillies prospects are honing in on what they want to work on.

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Although the season may be over for the Philadelphia Phillies in the big leagues, their top prospects are still getting playing time in the Arizona Fall League. The team's top pitching prospect has been shining after dealing with injuries, but a couple of their other prospects have made impacts as well. Philadelphia's number ten prospect, Bryan Rincon has his mind focused on improving his bat, above all else.

Drafted in the 14th round in 2022, the 20-year-old has been a glove first player since entering pro ball. According to Pipeline, both the shortstop's glove and arm rate as a 60 on the 20-80 scale, which is above average. And he's always known it.

"I practice what I need, but I really feel confident in my defense. I don’t have to think too much. It just comes naturally," he told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

Rincon's defense is something that he is not worried about, but he performance at the plate is. And that's what he is working on most in the AFL.

At 20, he reached High-A in 2024, but only played 35 total games this season due to a hamstring injury. In the small sample size, he hit .198 with a .653 OPS, nine doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs.

In the previous season, Rincon posted a .729 OPS with eight home runs and 27 stolen bases. It appeared as if he was holding his own at such a young age, but the injuries in 2024 caused him setbacks at the plate.

"Definitely my hitting. I’m going to work on some things I didn’t do during the season because I didn’t play enough," the infielder said of his upcoming work at the plate.

One of the major things was his walk rate, which plummeted in 2024. Rincon walked 68 times to 76 strikeouts in 2023, but it fell to a 24:46 ratio in 2024.

Still getting healthy, Rincon is just 4-for-33 with four RBIs in the Fall League thus far. There is still time to get himself right, and he won't be alone in that pursuit.

"It’s super great. Just being able to be with those guys in Spring Training. Our prospects, really good prospects like Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller. They’re just good guys," he said of the other hitting prospects in the system.

Although the Fall League is a collection of some of the most elite prospects in baseball, it's more for those prospects to work on their deficiencies with extra at-bats against the best. That is exactly what Bryan Rincon is doing, and he could be a big part of the Phillies' future going forward.