ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Gabriel Rincones Jr. has squeezed a whirlwind of life experiences in his 24 years. The Phillies’ power-hitting outfield prospect was born in Florida, moved to Venezuela shortly thereafter and spent six years there. He moved to Scotland from age 6 to 12, because his father, Gabri el Sr. works for a company that provides breathing apparatus for offshore oil companies. Rincones then moved back to Florida with his aunt and uncle and attended H.B. Plant High School in Tampa. “I’ve gone as long as four years not seeing my mom [Rosi De Bourg] or dad,” Rincones said. “It was hardest on my mom. I’d be so hung up with baseball that I’d forget to call, and then with them being five hours ahead made it tougher. I know I could be better. “I’d call and my mom would be like, ‘Oh, I forgot I even had a son.’” Rincones started his college career at St. Petersburg College, where he was a 19th-round draft pick of the Padres. He opted to stay in school and transferred to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He was a 2022 third-round pick of the Phillies, which started his journey through the minor leagues: Clearwater, Jersey Shore, Reading and, in 2025, Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the last stop before the majors. Rincones has lifelong friends at every stop. He owns a kilt. He’s worked hard to shake his accent. He’s worked even harder to perfect a power stroke that has him as the organization’s No. 10 prospect leading into his third year of professional ball. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is doing his best to stay grounded. Experience has shown him that doing otherwise does not work. “I don’t really like to think too far ahead,” Rincones said. “Then I get a little sped up, too excited. This is a great group of guys here [at Lehigh Valley]. It’s not like I’m itching to get out of here. These guys are awesome. There is a lot I can learn from guys like [Oscar] Mercado, [Garrett] Stubbs, [Cal] Stevenson, [Christian] Arroyo. “I’m just happy to be here; similar to when I was in [major league] camp. I’m the not senior on the varsity team. I’m more like the freshman recently called up from JV.” Rincones’ potential has him as an extra-base hit machine playing right field in the majors in the next couple years. He has raw strength similar to former IronPigs slugger Dylan Cozens, a 6-6, 245-pounder who was the Phillies’ 2012 second-round pick. Cozens went on to hit 54 home runs in 246 games from 2017-19 with the IronPigs but lasted only 27 games in 2018-19 with the Phillies. Rincones has athleticism, a strong arm and a work ethic that is in the same conversation with IronPigs teammate Matt Kroon. “I pretend like I’m not going to be alive tomorrow, like I’m not going to wake up tomorrow,” Rincones said. “I want to play hard, get the most out of every at-bat. I want to get the most out of a fifth at-bat and not pack it in after I got four hits.” Rincones’ patience was tested last season when UCL tendon surgery on his right thumb cost him three months. He hit .300 with a 1.017 OPS in his first 13 games with Double-A Reading before getting his right thumb caught on second base on a head-first slide for a hustle double. He tore the tendon right off the bone. He was struggling through the recovery process after surgery and pushing hard in his rehabilitation. The more he pushed, the slower the progress. Finally, a voice of reason appeared in his texts. Darick Hall, who spent parts of the last four seasons with the IronPigs before signing in the offseason with the Pirates, went through the same surgery. “He’d tell me what I should and shouldn’t do, how I shouldn’t press,” Rincones said. “He actually was a really big help on my way back to the field. He said that if I had any questions, that I could reach out. I can’t thank him enough.” The Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Gabriel Rincones, Jr. during introductions Friday, March 28, 2025, at Coca- Cola Park in Allentown. (David Garrett/Special to The Morning Call) Rincones, who didn’t play professionally the year he was drafted because of a torn labrum, made it back for the final 46 games last season in Reading before spending a second consecutive year in the Arizona Fall League to gain back some of the at-bats he missed. That provided some stress relief for the Florida native, who then took a couple weeks off to visit his parents in Scotland. The outfielder returned the states to live with high school teammate and Royals hitting prospect Jac Caglianone. The two trained in Tampa during the winter before reporting to camp. “It was a very short offseason in terms of resting,” he said. “That’s how I like it.” Rincones took advantage of a stint in big league camp this spring, hitting three home runs in 15 games with the Phillies. The time in the Philadelphia clubhouse, though, was as valuable as seeing major league pitching. “It was everything I could hope for at this stage of my career,” Rincones said. “It was fun being able to play well in front of that group and the fans, but even if I didn’t play well it was the experience of being around those guys. To learn what they do until the game, in the game and even if they didn’t have a good game, see how they handled failure, they have a very mature way of playing game. It was great to listen to.” Rincones did a lot of listening. He asked Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long a lot of questions. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos also were helpful. But the 24-year-old knew his place. “Schwarber went out of his way to work with me and K-Long,” Rincones said. “I asked Castellano questions in right field, from being a seasoned veteran to his first time in the big leagues. “But I tried not to say much because I’m not their buddy. I’m just this new kid on the block.” IronPigs manager Anthony Contreras sees the potential locked up inside Rincones. He also knows of his willingness to push himself to the limit in his training. The former minor league infielder is looking forward to harnessing all that talent and enthusiasm this spring and summer. He also believes the IronPigs roster construction will help Rincones and fellow top prospect Justin Crawford develop. “Knowing what I know about [Rincones] right now,” Contreras said, “the guy will work and work and work and sometimes, we have to pull the reins back a little bit and let him know he’s still a human being and needs to enjoy this.” Rincones, who was 1 for 5 with a run scored Friday in his Triple-A debut, has enjoyed the first two sometimes painful, sometimes rewarding seasons in the Phillies organization. Even if the results have not always been there, he has relished the process to becoming major league ready. ...read more read less