Phils’ third rounder Gabriel Rincones Jr. ‘bet on himself’ on path from Scotland
Philadelphia Phillies draft pick Gabriel Rincones Jr.’s road to professional baseball did not come without sacrifice.
Growing up in Scotland, he made the decision to move to the United States for high school to put himself in a better position to pursue a career in the sport he loved. Years later, that risk paid off as the outfielder was selected by the Phillies in the third round of last week’s Major League Baseball draft, the 93rd pick out of Florida Atlantic University.
“For Gabe, it’s just a little bit more special,” FAU head coach John McCormack told Phillies Nation by phone. “He gave up his life and family seven years ago to come to the United States to make this happen, and it’s happening.”
Rincones is a person who “bet on himself,” in the words of McCormack, putting belief in his own ability and potential to make his success possible.
The son of Gabriel Rincones Sr., a former minor-league pitcher from Venezuela, the younger Rincones spent most of his childhood in Fife, Scotland, after his father got a job there working in the oil industry. He played some baseball locally, but knew the competition that Scotland had to offer at the high school level would not be enough.
With his parents understanding his goals to play baseball at a high level, they sent Rincones to live with relatives, first in Venezuela and then in the U.S. He settled in Tampa, Florida, attending H.B. Plant High School, an institution that has produced 11 major leaguers, including active All-Stars Pete Alonso and Kyle Tucker and Hall of Famer Wade Boggs.
Fully focusing on baseball for the first time in high school, Rincones developed into a power-hitting left-handed batter. After graduating in 2019, he remained in the state of Florida to play for St. Petersburg College at the junior-college level.
Still, after spending years living stateside full-time, Rincones felt a great deal of pride in coming from Europe and specifically from Scotland. Last year, he found a way to express that.
Having grown up in the United Kingdom, Rincones can play in international competition for the British senior national baseball team, and he elected to do that in the 2021 European Championship. Great Britain manager Drew Spencer felt that it was a great way for Rincones to show his appreciation for his background.
“You can see that this is a kid who grew up in Scotland,” Spencer told Phillies Nation via Zoom. “I think he has a real strong connection to Scotland. And the first conversation I had with him, he said, ‘I loved growing up there. It’s a big part of my identity, and I would love to be part of putting Great Britain baseball on the map.'”
Spencer, a former college player at Dartmouth, is the lead program manager for the British Baseball Federation and manages the senior and under-23 British national teams. He felt that Rincones’ choice to play for Team Great Britain could be a positive benefit for the entire organization. While major leaguers such as Bahamian All-Star Jazz Chisholm have played under the British flag before, Spencer believes Rincones growing up in Scotland and representing Great Britain before going on to be drafted could help attract other players from the U.K. to play for the national team.
“It’s the first time in a really, really long time that you can talk about someone who played here as a kid,” Spencer said. “He played in Edinburgh, (Scotland), when he was 13 or 14 years old. That’s a very different story to tell, and I guarantee you it’s going to inspire some young ballplayers in this country to believe that their chances got a bit better.”
Following a slow start in the 2021 European Championship in Italy, he closed out the competition as a force in the British lineup, helping Great Britain finish in sixth place out of 16 teams.
Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 19th round in the summer of 2021, Rincones chose not to sign and transferred to Florida Atlantic in hopes of rising his draft stock. He did that and more in 2022 and cemented himself as one of the top Division I hitters in his class with high exit velocities.
“He hit some balls this year,” McCormack said, “that you go, ‘Wow. That’s different than all the other 20-year-old guys. That’s different.'”
Rincones hit 19 home runs in 58 games for FAU, posting a 1.110 OPS and winning the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year award. His performance this season was rewarded on Day 2 of the draft, and the Phillies announced on Monday that he had officially signed with the team.
The ultimate goal, of course, is making the major leagues, and the road there will start in the minors soon for Rincones. But for a kid from Scotland who moved his whole life to get here, becoming a pro ballplayer is quite the accomplishment.
“Every young ballplayer has their eyes on the prize,” Spencer said, “but not many have been as focused and determined to get there as Gabriel has. That extra special thing — that I knew how much it meant to him — made it an even nicer moment.”
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