Former St. Petersburg College baseball player, Gabriel Rincones, is a rising star with the Philadelphia Phillies organization, according to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Called the “most interesting prospect in the Phillies’ farm system,” Rincones knocked an eighth-inning fastball out of BayCare park at a recent spring training game, and then was swamped by fans seeking his autograph after the game.
Rincones grew up in the world of baseball, watching his father, a minor league player for the Mariners, play in adult leagues after he left the sport professionally. Growing up in Venezuela and then later, Scotland, Rincones knew he wanted to play baseball from a young age. But after moving to the states, he struggled and was ultimately cut from his high school team in Tampa. But he practiced relentlessly, and improved enough to be on the varsity team. He didn’t receive any scholarship offers out of high school, so he enrolled at SPC, where he continued to work hard to improve his game. He found success; in fact, he was named the Florida College System Activities Association Player of the Year and National Junior College Athletics Association First-Team All American.
Though the Padres offered him a spot in 2021, he elected to accept a scholarship to Florida Atlantic University, where he improved his game and was tapped by the Phillies for their farm team in 2022.
Rincones is now in the fourth round of the MLB draft, which he told the Philadelphia Enquirer was everything he’s been working for.
“I’ve been praying for the patience,” he said in the article. “I’m not in a hurry, but I definitely want to get up as fast as I can.”
