ONE of the most tantalizing prospects in MLB history has made it to the Seattle Mariners’ farm system.
The Mariners are known for developing great pitchers, and now they have perhaps their most interesting project yet.
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Jurrangelo Cijntje is one of the rarest prospects to ever hit Major League Baseball: a switch-pitcher.
There are plenty of hitters in MLB that serve as switch-hitters, batting from both sides of the plater.
However, there is not a single switch-pitcher in the whole of MLB.
If Cijntje were to make it to the Mariners’ major league club he would be the first to do so since 2020.
The last player to switch-pitch was Pat Venditte, who did so for the six different teams as a reliever from 2015 to 2020.
Venditte was the first player to do so since Greg Harris did so for the Montreal Expos did in 1995. He was the only player to do so in the 20th century.
There are only a handful of pitchers who have switch-pitched in the history of baseball, and Cijntje could be the best of them.
He made his professional debut on April 5 for High-A Everett and flashed the talent that made him the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Cijntje struck out six batters across four innings of work, allowing just a single and two walks.
No runs were scored against him.
All six of his strikeouts came as a right-handed pitcher, and he threw right handed 11 times. Batters were 1-for-11 against him right-handed.
Cijntje pitched left-handed three times. Batters were 0-for-1 with two walks against him left-handed.
There are many more right-handed batters than left-handed ones, so it will be hard for Cijntje to develop equally.
However, he has shared how he is improving his pitching from the left side.
“I’m probably throwing more from the right side, but we’ve developed a sinker too from the left side and it’s getting way better,” Cijntje told MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis.
“And the slider is more like a sweeper now. Everything is getting better from both sides.
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“Even though I’m going to throw more from the right side, but from the left side, the stuff is getting better.”
Cijntje also revealed to Callis how he is training to maintain his talent from both sides.
“It’s a lot of work, but… if you’re actually trying to stay healthy, you’ve got to do everything on both sides,” he said.
“So if I do something with the right arm, I always do it with the left arm, too.
“I’m always trying to be consistent and always working my butt off in trying to be the best that I can.”
Cijntje is the Mariners’ No. 9 prospect and is projected to be MLB-ready in 2027.
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