Seattle Mariners Select Rare Switch-Pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje in MLB Draft

Getty Mariners draft pick Jurrangelo Cijntje

Yogi Berra would have called Jurrangelo Cijntje amphibious. The rest of us would say the Seattle Mariners’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft is an ultra-rare switch-pitcher.

That’s right, Cijntje is an ambidextrous hurler from Mississippi State, meaning he can pitch effectively with his left and right hands.

Seattle took Cijntje No. 15 overall after he made 16 starts for an NCAA Tournament team in 2024. He pitched to a 3.67 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 90.2 innings and a 1.10 WHIP.

MLB Pipeline ranked Cijntje as the No. 25 prospect in this year’s MLB Draft class, but with the upside of someone who could be a Major League matchup nightmare, the Mariners certainly saw a higher upside.

Mariners Will Let Jurrangelo Cijntje Continue Pitching from Both Sides

Seattle isn’t about to decide for Cijntje whether he wants to pitch left- or right-handed going forward — or to continue as a switch-pitcher.

“We’re going to let Jurrangelo make that decision to start,” Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter told MLB.com. “That’s the fun part of it. … There is a huge advantage if he does do both. I don’t think it will be a true left today, right tomorrow. It’s more about maybe picking matchups and seeing how it works in the Minor Leagues. But it is definitely an option that’s on the table to keep it going.”

The theoretical downside to Cijntje continuing from both sides is that it would prevent him from honing elite stuff as either a lefty or righty. MLB.com profiles him as a natural lefty who throws harder from the right side. As a left-handed pitcher, he accompanies his slightly softer fastball with a sweeping breaking ball.

Max Ellingsen of Lookout Landing writes that evaluators eventually expect him to settle on pitching as a righty.

Ellingsen added another nugget from Hunter, who disclosed another area of potential growth in their first-round MLB Draft pick.

“When we sat with him at the combine and discussed his pitches, he gets a lot of action on his four-seam fastball, and he doesn’t even use a two seamer yet,” Hunter said. “Introducing a two seamer, that he actually has a natural feel for without even holding the grip, really excites us.”

Jurrangelo Cijntje: The Making of his Makeup

Cijntje’s two biggest influences seem to be his father, Mechangelo, and Yankees starter Marcus Stroman.

Cijntje learned to throw right-handed because, as he told Gabe Lacques of USA Today, “I wanted to be like my dad.”

Mechangelo was a professional baseball player in the Netherlands.

And with a slight 5’11 frame, he says he models his game after Stroman, who is 5’8.

Lacques added that while some may want to compare Cijntje to recent MLB switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, that comparison is not apt.

“The majors’ most recent ambidextrous pitcher was a serviceable reliever a decade ago. He did not run his fastball up to 97 mph, sitting at 95 with a handful of delectable secondary offerings to beguile hitters,” Lacques wrote.

That potential leaves open the possibility that Cijntje could continue switch-pitching through the minors and into the majors. If that happens, MLB rules would allow him to switch hands throughout the game, provided he indicates which hand he will pitch with before each plate appearance begins and, barring injury, does not switch hands mid-at bat.