Gutierrez, de Jesus Highlight Rangers' International Signings

The Texas Rangers brought in a haul of 17 prospects as the international signing period began on Saturday.

While Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continue to limp in between bargaining sessions during the game's ninth work stoppage, clubs have now turned their attention to the international signing period, which began Saturday.

The Texas Rangers committed more than $3 million on two Latin American outfielders—Anthony Gutierrez (Venezuela) and Jose de Jesus (Dominican Republic)—as part of 17 international free agent signings announced by the club. According to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez, Gutierrez signed for $2 million and de Jesus signed for $1.2 million. Gutierrez and de Jesus rank No. 6 and No. 27 respectively on MLB.com's Top 50 International Prospects List.

The Rangers entered the 2021-22 international signing period with $5,179,700 to spend. Players that sign for less than $10,000 do not count against their bonus pool.

Gutierrez, 17, had been linked to the Washington Nationals and it looked like he may wait another year to sign with them in the next signing period. However, the Rangers made a strong push in the months leading up to this period and ultimately landed him. According to Baseball America, Gutierrez is one of the better power bats in the class and has a "promising mix of size, athleticism and instincts, with broad shoulders, long limbs and plenty of physical upside remaining." While he has the ability to play center field, his 6-foot-3, 185-pound build projects him as a right fielder.

de Jesus, 17, is a switch-hitting centerfielder with plus speed and has gotten faster during the scouting process. According to Baseball America, there is a mixed feeling from scouts about his hit tool. Some liked his swing and strike-zone judgement while others felt his hitting was a bit behind some of his other tools. de Jesus is a line-drive hitter with good gap power and displays more power from the right side. He could still develop more power as he physically matures.

Here is the full list of signings announced by the club on Saturday:

Player	Age	Position	B/T	Height/Weight	Home Country
Roni Cabrera	16	OF	R/R	6'0"/160	Dominican Republic
Yeremy Cabrera	16	OF	L/L	6'0"/170	Dominican Republic
Jose de Jesus	17	CF	S/R	6'1"/170	Dominican Republic
Freddy Espinal	16	OF	L/L	5'11"/155	Dominican Republic
Kleimer Lemos	16	INF	L/R	6'1"/175	Dominican Republic
Esteban Mejia	17	INF	R/R	5'11"/165	Dominican Republic
Echedry Vargas	16	OF	R/R	5'11"/160	Dominican Republic
Oliver Yan	16	OF	R/R	6'0"/170	Dominican Republic
Erick Alvarez	16	OF	R/R	5'10"/165	Venezuela
Daniel Bruzual	16	C	R/R	6'0"/165	Venezuela
Alfredo Espinoza	17	C	R/R	5'11"/165	Venezuela
Jaiker Garcia	17	INF	R/R	6'2"/165	Venezuela
Cristian Gonzalez	16	INF	R/R	6'1"/165	Venezuela
Anthony Gutierrez	17	CF	R/R	6'3"/185	Venezuela
Luis Marquez	16	INF	R/R	5'10"/155	Venezuela
Marcos Torres	17	OF	L/L	6'0"/165	Venezuela
Felipe Torres	17	RHP	R/R	5'10"/155	Panama

Promo image: Kelly Gavin, Courtesy of the Texas Rangers

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