CINCINNATI -- What Jurrangelo Cijntje is doing right now doesn’t just have fans and followers of baseball marveling. Even the Mariners’ front office is in awe of their switch-pitching prospect whose ambidextrous ability has been every bit as advertised since he was selected in the first round of last year’s MLB Draft. “It's such an unbelievable advantage if he and we are able to kind of bring it to the end of the road as a big leaguer,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said this week. “If he does both of these things, it's tough to imagine. Like, I can't even imagine how much fun we would have with that skill set.” For an organization with a renowned track record of pitching development, Cijntje is easily its most fascinating case study yet. And his production -- and more so, routine -- has given a glimpse into what could be to come. |
The club’s No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has made four appearances at High-A Everett -- two starts and two relief outings -- which have been a by-design effort to develop both arms. He’ll make his next start on Saturday at Tri-City, aired free on MLB.TV. Essentially, Cijntje has been deployed as a right-handed starter every Saturday, then he makes a mid-week relief appearance exclusively as a lefty on Wednesdays, throwing 20 to 25 pitches. But the Mariners have been particular in how he uses his left arm in starts, putting up guardrails to ensure that he’s still capable of attacking lefty hitters while throwing right-handed. “Not just relying on the platoon matchup all the time, because that's a learning route,” Dipoto said. “Inherently, that means it's going to take a little bit more time. My guess is just simply because, as a rule, most Minor League players even have some type of platoon issues.” |
Given that the club spent the No. 15 overall pick and $4,880,900 in a signing bonus on Cijntje, they intend to primarily develop him as a starter because that’s where his greatest value will be. “If he just does this for a couple of years, he'll be in the big leagues simply because he's putting the hitter in a very difficult spot,” Dipoto said, “instead of developing his own [skill set], which is what we're trying to do. “I think if we just made him a right-handed starter, with what we're seeing now, the pitch development relative to command, it's live. It's really kind of special,” Dipoto said. “But why would we want to give up the chance to develop and explore what is really a one-of-a-kind skill set?” In two starts, Cijntje has been scoreless over seven innings, with just two hits allowed, 10 strikeouts, four walks and one hit-by-pitch against 27 batters, correlating to a .091 opponents’ batting average. The relief appearances have been a little more rocky -- again, when he’s only pitching lefty -- with five earned runs on two hits (including a homer) and four walks, with three strikeouts against 11 batters in 1 2/3 innings. |
Hiccups are to be expected, especially with a throwing program still very much in beta. “I wish I could stamp that this is going to be his routine,” Dipoto said. “We're learning as we go. We can't just pull the book, 'This is what you do with a switch-throwing starting pitcher who throws in the mid-upper 90s from both sides.’ I don't even know what that does to your body when you go out -- and eventually, we're going to build pitch count -- and you get into the 90-to-100-pitch range, like he will in the summer. What does that do to your body to then bounce back and have a left-handed outing?” Cijntje isn’t the first pitcher to throw from both sides. But as far as anyone can tell, no one has done so with the elite velocity and arsenal that he possesses. The Dutch-born Curaçao native has added velocity since last July, touching 100 mph from the right side, with a mid-80s slider and a hard changeup with fade. As a lefty, he’s been up to 94 mph with a sweepier, low-80s breaking ball while operating with a lower arm slot. At 21 years old and after two seasons at Mississippi State, Cijntje is also more seasoned. “I think he'll move quicker, just because he's popped,” Dipoto said. “He's already pitched in the SEC. And this isn't a guy who, like, came out of nowhere. He's been a thing since he was 10 [years old]. He's pitched on big stages. He's pitched in the Little League World Series. He's pitched at what I can only describe as the highest level of amateur competition that you can compete in, until you get to the big leagues.” |
|
|
We all know that Raleigh has raked in Toronto, with seven career homers in 10 games (including the postseason) at Rogers Centre, where Seattle begins a three-game series tonight. But who has gone deep north of the border the most times in franchise history? A) Ken Griffey Jr. B) Edgar Martinez C) Jay Buhner D) Alex Rodriguez |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
CAL'S MOM WEIGHS IN ON NICKNAME |
"Big Dumper" is unquestionably one of the best -- maybe the best? -- nicknames in baseball, and for the first time publicly, Cal Raleigh's mother shared her thoughts on it. Read more » |
|
|
Andrés Muñoz made his first appearance as a guest on MLB Network, live from Great American Ball Park. As is the case with any interview featuring the All-Star closer, it’s well worth a view. WATCH » |
|
|
A) Griffey Jr. Griffey hit 14 home runs in Toronto in his Mariners career. |
|
|
Mariners Special Events Check out everything on deck during the next Mariners homestands. Buy Tickets » • City Connect Captain’s Hat Night -- April 25 • Moose Shoulder Plush Night -- April 26 • Mother’s Day Weekend -- May 9-11 Mariners Flex Memberships The season is in full swing, and it’s not too late to come on board as a Season Ticket Member! With a Flex Plan, you can choose your games and seats as you go while still enjoying perks like exclusive presales, year-round discounts, no ticket fees and more. Learn More » |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Mariners Beat, visit this page and mark "Mariners Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Mariners or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
