There’s another example of a rare baseball phenomenon to keep an eye on in the coming years — the switch-pitcher. Yes, Seattle Mariners prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje is the latest in the vanishingly rare class of pitchers capable of throwing at a professional level with both their left and right arms.
The 21-year-old Cijntje saw his first bit of action for the Mariners during their Friday night Spring Breakout game against a roster of Cleveland Guardians prospects. Here’s a look at Cijntje working from both sides in that contest:
As for how the Mariners will handle Cijntje and his elusive set of skills, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander laid it out for the near term:
“It’s a lot of work, but … if you’re actually trying to stay healthy, you’ve got to do everything on both sides,” Cijntje recently told Jim Callis. “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, a native of the Netherlands who went to high school in Florida, pitched for Mississippi State before being drafted by the Mariners with the No. 15 overall pick last year. He did not pitch professionally last season after signing, but he could be a fast mover through the M’s system.
Going into last year’s draft, CBS Sports ranked him as the No. 14 available prospect. Here’s part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up:
“Cijntje (that’s “SAIN-ja”) is a switch-pitcher, and not in a gimmicky sense: he’s capable of clearing 90 mph with both arms. He’s also not a switch-pitcher in a committed sense, as he primarily throws with his right arm these days. That’s a wise decision since he shows better velocity (into the upper 90s) and stuff (top-notch fastball and good breaking ball) from that direction. Cijntje is on the shorter side (listed at 5-foot-11) but he’s a good athlete who averaged nearly six innings per pop this season.”
Not surprisingly, very few pitchers have pitched ambidextrously at the highest level, and most of them did so in the 19th century. The most recent was Pat Venditte, who made 61 relief appearances between 2015 and 2020 for six different teams, including the Mariners.
It remains to be seen whether Cijntje joins their ranks or eventually focuses on throwing with his stronger arm. Either way, he gave us something to remember and savor on Friday night.
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