Seattle Mariners 2024 first-round pick Jurrangelo Cijntje made his much-anticipated organizational debut on Frida during the Spring Breakout showcase. The switch-pitcher didn’t flash much of his two-sided ability, throwing from the left side against just one of the 10 Cleveland Guardians hitters he faced.
Still, the 21-year-old showed why the Mariners liked his potential enough to make him the 15th overall pick in last year's draft. Cjintje likely won't garner an MLB call-up until the second half of 2026 at the earliest, but his MLB Spring Breakout performance was a good starting point for his professional career.
Sinker plays well for Seattle Mariners' Jurrangelo Cijntje
The consensus among talent evaluators is that Cijntje's best offering is his fastball. Its sinking action makes it difficult for hitters to locate properly. The Mariners saw how that pitch will fare against future opponents.
Of the 23 sinkers he threw, 17 of them were strikes. It topped out at 98.9 mph and sat around 95-96 according to Statcast, similar to where it was last spring at Mississippi State.
Although he only generated two swings-and-misses with the pitch, there was hardly any solid contact on those that connected with a bat. Cijntje's final pitch was a 97 mph sinker that put away 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana.
The Mariners' No. 9 prospect per MLB Pipeline retired his fellow draft mate twice in his debut. He allowed one unearned run with a pair of strikeouts and walks in two innings.
Cijntje's off-speed options aren't there yet
While Cijntje's primary pitch from the right side looked good, his secondary options were not as effective. Sporting an arsenal that includes a slider and changeup, strikes were hard to come by with those off-speed pitches.
Only seven of the 17 sliders and changeups he threw went for strikes. He did generate his first strikeout with a great located changeup at the bottom of the zone. However, he almost didn’t get the opportunity to because the third pitch of the at-bat was a 1-1 slider that nearly hit Guardians outfielder Jorge Burgos.
Cijntje's lone pitch as a lefty was a sweeper that jammed Bazzana into a groundout. He said after the game it was tough to keep his adrenaline under control on the mound, perhaps a reason why he struggled to find the zone with his off-speed stuff.
“There was a lot of adrenaline," Cijntje said, per MLB.com's Daniel Kramer. “I couldn’t even control my body, but I fought through it.”
Hopefully the lack of control can be chalked up to big-game jitters. It'll be a harder hill to climb to the big leagues if he can't throw those pitches for strikes.
Pitching from both sides consistently is possible, but not probable
You don't see this every day. #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/BC6QmG43JR
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) March 15, 2025
It's nice to dream about Jurrangelo Cijntje potentially throwing from both sides regularly in the MLB. The Mariners plan to allow him to develop as such, with more focus on the right side.
That was displayed in his debut, where he opted to pitch right-handed to five of the six lefty hitters who stepped in against him.
Unfortunately, history suggests he probably won’t be able to sustain success as a switch-pitcher. It's been attempted only a handful of times in the MLB and never to much success.
The last switch-pitcher to grace an MLB mound was Pat Venditte in 2020. The one-time Mariner appeared in 61 games as a reliever throughout his career, posting a 4.73 ERA.
We've seen unicorns in the sport before and are currently being graced by the most unique one in Shohei Ohtani. It's hard to envision Cijntje sticking with both arms for the long haul, but time will tell. He and the Mariners are at least willing to give it a shot. That should excite fans in Seattle.