The Rangers kicked off the international signing period Thursday by laying out $2.5 million for highly-regarded Dominican infielder/outfielder Elian Rosario, considered one of the top 10 prospects in the signing class.
By the end of the day, the Rangers had signed 20 players and committed more than $5 million to the top 10 bonuses in the class. The Rangers were assigned $6,679,200 in their bonus pool.
Along with Rosario, the signees who received $100,000 or more in bonuses:
OF Jesús Chavez ($600,000)
Rangers
OF Ariel Abreu ($500,000)
C Santiago Ramirez ($375,000)
RHP Frandel Pineda ($350,000)
INF Luis Jacques ($300,000)
C Frainker Benitez ($250,000)
OF Victor Rodriguez ($200,000)
OF Carlos Doñe (200,000)
C Jesus Flores ($200,000)
RHP Harley Fernandez ($100,000)
Rosario, who turned 17 in October, is a right-handed hitter, listed at 6-2, 195 pounds. According to Baseball America, he already has significant raw power and could project to have “plus or plus-plus raw power.” He does have some swing-and-miss issues, typical of a power hitter, but also is willing to take a walk, suggesting good strike-zone knowledge.
The rest of the Rangers’ Thursday signees who received bonuses of less than $100,000: IF Victor Gonzalez, SS-CF Cesar Mateo, SS Cristian Seminiel, OF Luis Cedeno, RHP Jesus Cordova, IF David Diaz, RHP Ronaiker Narvaez, OF Santiago Rivas.
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