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Rising shortstop prospect soaks up CBP, earns Phillies' top minors honor
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- Rising shortstop prospect soaks up CBP, earns Phillies' top minors honor
Rising shortstop prospect soaks up CBP, earns Phillies' top minors honor originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Bryan Rincon had been to Citizens Bank Park before, but under much different circumstances.
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In 2022, he came for a tryout. Four years later, he returned as one of the Phillies ' two Paul Owens Award winners, standing alongside Alex McFarlane, who has already gone from the minor leagues to becoming an emerging piece of Philadelphia 's bullpen.
The award, named after longtime Phillies scout, farm director and general manager Paul Owens, is given annually to the organization's top minor-league position player and pitcher. Rincon earned the offensive honor after putting together one of the biggest breakout seasons anywhere in the system.
A year ago, that would have been difficult to predict.
Rincon hit .181 with a .602 OPS at High-A Jersey Shore in 2025 before a broken hamate bone ended his season. He made up for some of the lost time in the Arizona Fall League, then entered spring training healthy and with another opportunity to make an impression.
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That was when some work with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long began to stick.
Rincon said his swing had become too handsy at times. When he tried to correct it, he could get too long. Long introduced him to a drill he had previously used with Juan Soto while coaching him in Washington, focusing on taking the knob of the bat directly toward the baseball.
"During spring training, talking with Kevin Long, he gave me a couple things," Rincon said. "After that, I just felt pretty confident. I was able to keep that confidence, just go out and play and be myself."
Rincon referred to it as the "Soto drill."
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The idea was to simplify the path of his hands and get the barrel to the ball more consistently. For a player who already had strong strike-zone awareness, a cleaner path gave him a better chance to do damage when he decided to swing.
Then the Phillies handed him the everyday shortstop job at Double-A Reading.
He took off.
Rincon hit .267 with 26 home runs, 67 RBI, 30 stolen bases and a .927 OPS. He also drew 95 walks, continuing a skill that has followed him throughout his professional career while adding a level of power that had not previously been part of his profile.
He credited the jump to more than one adjustment.
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"Just the work that I've put in all these years, getting stronger and pretty much putting myself in a very good spot," Rincon said.
His prospect status changed with the production.
Rincon finished 2025 ranked 14th in the Phillies' system by MLB Pipeline. He ended this season as their No. 5 prospect and No. 98 overall on Pipeline's Top 100.
That rise is notable for an organization that has not always received much national attention for its position-player pipeline. The Phillies' current championship window is built largely around established veterans, making the development of younger players who can eventually supplement that core increasingly important.
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Rincon now looks like one of them.
The Phillies entered this year's trade deadline looking for immediate help and were willing to move from their prospect depth to find it. Breakout right-hander Ramon Marquez was dealt to San Francisco in the trade that brought Luis Arraez to Philadelphia.
Rincon stayed.
What makes his development more intriguing is that the offensive breakout has been layered on top of a part of his game the Phillies have long trusted.
Defense.
At 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, Rincon has the range and arm strength to remain at shortstop, making plays deep in the hole despite not possessing the traditional frame associated with the position. The larger question had always been how much offense would come with it.
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This season provided a much different answer.
His path to this point has not been conventional, either.
Rincon grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, a city with a long history of producing major-league shortstops. He began switch-hitting at 13 after years of encouragement from his father.
"He always told me to try, try, and I never wanted to," Rincon said. "And then when I actually tried it, I just kept doing it."
He was unable to land a professional contract at 16, so Rincon moved to Pittsburgh and continued chasing one in the United States. He had already played against advanced competition in Venezuela and was comfortable enough with wood bats to use one in high school.
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The move eventually paid off when the Phillies selected him in the 14th round of the 2022 draft.
Four years later, his season ended with 26 homers, 30 steals, a championship with Reading and the Paul Owens Award.
"It was amazing," Rincon said of winning with Reading. "Great group of guys, all the coaching staff. It was a really good team. So it was fun."
Rincon is not interested in predicting where the Phillies will send him next.
Asked about his goals for 2027, he kept the answer simple.
"I don't have any goals," Rincon said. "I'm just trying to keep playing the game, having fun and just getting stronger, more mature."
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He took the same approach when asked whether there was a particular level he hoped to reach next season.
"That's not in my control," Rincon said. "I just keep playing the game wherever they put me."
There is, however, one destination he has thought plenty about.
Standing at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday brought him back to his first visit in 2022, when his future with the organization was still uncertain.
Now he is one of its fastest-rising prospects.
"Since I got drafted, this is my dream," Rincon said. "Playing for these fans, for this city. That's all I want right now."
