‘I call him Uncle Rico’: How Kyle Schwarber has helped Phillies prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr. this spring
Rincones’ prodigious power during batting practice caught the eye of Schwarber, who has given him some tips — and a nickname.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Kyle Schwarber was shagging balls in the outfield a few weeks ago when a minor leaguer stepped up to the plate. He began to take batting practice, hitting one home run after another and spraying the ball to each field from the left side of the plate.
All Schwarber could do was laugh.
“I was like, ‘Who is this big donkey out here taking hacks?’” He said. “He was hitting balls out to left like a righty would.”
Schwarber saw the minor leaguer talking to Kevin Long and walked up to the hitting coach.
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“Who was that kid hitting stuff all over the place?” He asked.
“Oh, that’s Rincones,” Long replied. “You should try to talk to him.”
Schwarber did. Shortly after practice, he and Wes Wilson found Gabriel Rincones Jr. in the Phillies’ training room. Wilson told the 24-year-old that he had “mega juice.” Schwarber came up with a better descriptor than that.
“He was like, ‘Oh, Uncle Rico here, making us look like nothing,’” Rincones said.
“I call him Uncle Rico because he can hit the ball over the mountains,” Schwarber clarified.
For those unfamiliar, Uncle Rico was a character in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, a former high school football star who claimed he could throw a football “a quarter mile.” His famous line: “How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?”
It was the perfect moniker for Rincones, a prospect with some pop who can’t spell his surname without R-I-C-O.
The minor leaguer wasn’t bothered.
“It’s awesome that he’s even giving me a nickname,” Rincones said. “That’s good enough for me.”
The sluggers began to talk throughout the spring. Rincones saw an opportunity to address some of his shortcomings. He has long hit for power (the outfielder now has three home runs in 13 Grapefruit League at-bats) but mostly against right-handed pitching.
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Rincones, who was selected by the Phillies in the third round of the 2022 draft, took only 37 at-bats against lefties in 2024. He slashed .189/.250/.243, compared to .263/.362/.488 (with 11 home runs) over 217 at-bats against righties.
In Rincones’ mind, Schwarber is someone he could learn from; a left-handed hitter who used to struggle against lefties but figured it out in recent years. This was thanks partially to a minor adjustment Schwarber made in 2021.
Schwarber began to align his setup to where the ball would be coming from. Suddenly, he could more clearly see left-handed pitches without straining his neck.
“A lefty coming from a different angle, most of the time, they’re probably coming from behind you,” Schwarber said. “Versus a righty, that’s coming from in front of us. It’s being able to just kind of shift to where you feel like you can get both eyes on him without really straining. Turning and then coming back.
“It’s nothing outrageous; it’s nothing big. But it’s something that can help you recognize pitches, make it a little bit easier. It’s helped me dramatically against lefties.”
The results weren’t immediate, but showed up in a big way in 2024. Schwarber fared better against lefties last year than he did against righties. He hit .300/.407/.490 against left-handed pitching, with an .898 OPS and 12 home runs.
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He passed the advice to Rincones this spring, who began to incorporate it into spring training games.
“It’s about shifting my sights,” Rincones said. “Since the right-handed arm slot is to the left side of me, lefties are kind of throwing behind me, so I’m only using one eye to pick up the ball.”
Schwarber also advised that Rincones move his back foot closer to the plate when he’s facing lefties, since his front foot will be shifted toward the back of the batter’s box.
“With me shifting over, I have to make sure that I’m not too far away from the plate,” Rincones said.
Rincones has been taking more batting practice and flips from a left-handed angle, which has helped him as well. It’s a work in progress. He hasn’t gotten a hit off a southpaw this spring — but he’s also only had three at-bats against left-handed pitching.
The young outfielder has time to figure it out. And while he does, Schwarber will continue to marvel at his power.
“He’s been great,” Schwarber said. “The way he’s been able to hit the baseball and stay on the barrel and take his at-bats. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. And that’s all you can ask for with the young guys, right?”