Jurrangelo Cijntje aims to maintain flexibility within the Seattle Mariners organization as a pitcher who can switch between throwing with his right and left arms.
Selected as the 15th overall pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, Cijntje explained that during his time at Mississippi State in 2024, he favored pitching right-handed to left-handed batters due to discomfort in his left side midway through the season.
“My pitching coach advised me to rest my left side and focus solely on pitching right-handed,” Cijntje said. “Now everything feels good.”
The Mariners support Cijntje’s decision to choose whether to pitch as a right-hander, left-hander, or both professionally. Cijntje personally prefers to continue pitching with both arms.
According to his MLB.com draft profile, Cijntje originally threw left-handed but began throwing right-handed at the age of 6, inspired by his father Mechangelo, a former professional baseball player in the Netherlands.
Despite primarily being a left-hander, Cijntje is also comfortable using his right hand. He writes with his right hand and compares eating to pitching, using both hands interchangeably.
Scouts note that Cijntje’s fastball velocity is higher when throwing right-handed, reaching the mid-90 mph range compared to the low 90s from the left side. His left-handed pitching style involves a lower arm angle, relying more on off-speed pitches.
Although scouts speculate that his future may lean towards right-handed pitching, Cijntje’s decision to predominantly pitch right-handed against left-handed batters this season caught attention.
“Because I’ve used my right side much more than my left, I feel more comfortable pitching right-handed,” Cijntje acknowledged. “But I can feel my left side improving as well.”
