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Jurrangelo Cijntje

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Jurrangelo Cijntje
Seattle Mariners
Pitcher
Born: (2003-05-31) May 31, 2003 (age 21)
The Hague, Netherlands
Bats: Switch
Throws: Switch

Jean Michael Cijntje (born May 31, 2003), nicknamed "Loo",[1][2] is a Dutch-born Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He is a switch pitcher, having the rare ability to pitch proficiently with both his right and left arms. He was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft by the Mariners.[3]

Amateur career

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Cijntje was born in the Netherlands and grew up primarily in Willemstad, Curaçao.[4] He was a member of the Willemstad Little League team that played in the 2016 Little League World Series.[5] Cijntje played second base and batted second for the Netherlands under-15 team at the 2018 U-15 Baseball World Cup in Panama. He had a 1.076 on-base plus slugging and 6 RBI while committing two fielding errors in eight games at the youth tournament.[6]

Cijntje moved to Miami when he was 16 years old, where he lived with three older cousins who had played baseball at Florida National University.[7][8] He enrolled at Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah, Florida, where he was both a switch pitcher and switch hitter for the school's baseball team. He also participated in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.[9] His high school record was 7–6 with a 2.32 earned run average (ERA), striking out 166 batters in 81 innings.[10] He committed to play for Mississippi State University before his senior season,[11][12] and he enrolled there after not signing with the Milwaukee Brewers,[13] who selected him in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB draft.[14]

Mississippi State: 2023–2024

Cijntje began his freshman season with the Bulldogs as a mid-week starting pitcher.[15] In his first collegiate start, he struck out seven Louisiana–Monroe batters, six while pitching right-handed and one as a lefty, while allowing one hit and one walk over four innings.[16][17] He finished the season with a 3–5 record and 8.10 ERA in 14 games, 13 of the starts. He had 63 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched.[18]

As a sophomore in 2024, Cijntje was named a second-team All American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association[19] and Perfect Game[20] and was named to the South All-Region first team by the American Baseball Coaches Association.[21] He finished the season with an 8–2 record and 3.67 ERA over 16 starts. He had 113 strikeouts in 90+2⁄3 innings pitched.[18] Cijntje pitched primarily as a righty in 2024, not throwing a pitch left-handed for the final month of the season.[22] Mississippi State pitching coach Justin Parker said Cijntje would often forego the platoon advantage and pitch with his right arm to left-handed batters to improve his consistency. Parker said Cijntje has higher velocity and better command with his right arm but induces more groundballs as a lefty.[23]

Professional career

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Cijntje was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on July 14, 2024.[3][24] Cijntje signed a $4.88 million contract with the Mariners on July 16.[25] Following the draft, he was ranked as the Mariners' #7 prospect by MLB.com and the organization's #9 prospect by FanGraphs.[26][22] Cijntje did not pitch for the Mariners in 2024 but participated in the team's High Performance Camp at their Arizona complex in October.[27][28]

Personal life

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Cijntje's father, Mechangelo, played baseball professionally in the Netherlands as a catcher.[29][30] Cijntje is naturally left-handed[31][32] and began throwing when he was six years old to mimic his father.[10]

Cijntje is friends with Ozzie Albies.[8] As a child, Cijntje's favorite baseball player was Andruw Jones, who is also Curaçaoan.[33] In high school, he said his favorite MLB pitchers were lefty Clayton Kershaw and righty Marcus Stroman,[11] who scouts have compared him to given their similar size.[3]

Cijntje can speak fluent English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Jurrangelo Cijntje on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Baseball Aruba (February 6, 2023). The ambidextrous pitcher from Curacao Jurrangelo "Loo" Cijntje is getting ready for the upcoming season with Mississippi State. | Facebook. Retrieved September 27, 2024 – via Facebook.
  3. ^ a b c DeRosa, Theo; Kramer, Daniel (July 14, 2024). "Mariners take switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje with 15th pick". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  4. ^ Villa, Walter (March 29, 2022). "Switch-Pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje Is More Than A Draft Novelty". Baseball America. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Beauge, John (August 20, 2016). "Curacao hurler throws left and right handed against Seoul in Little League World Series". The Patriot-News. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "CIJNTJE Jurrangelo Jean Michael - History". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  7. ^ DeRosa, Theo (February 18, 2023). "Ambidextrous freshman pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje offers Mississippi State baseball rare chance to switch it up". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Dodd, Rustin. "Jurrangelo Cijntje is a switch-pitching unicorn — and the most intriguing player in the MLB Draft". The Athletic. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Major League Baseball completes 2024 MLB Draft". MLB.com. July 17, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Jurrangelo Cijntje - Baseball". Mississippi State. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c McPherson, Jordan (July 5, 2022). "A switch-pitcher out of Champagnat is possibly MLB Draft's most intriguing prospect". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on October 30, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  12. ^ Cijntje, Jurrangelo [@_loo.cijntje] (November 1, 2021). "I'm a mississippi state bulldog nuff said…#committed #mississippistate #hailstate" – via Instagram.
  13. ^ Cijntje, Jurrangelo [@_LooCijntje] (July 19, 2022). "Im honored of getting picked but im still a bulldog!! 🐶" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2024 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ McCalvy, Adam (July 19, 2022). "Crew drafts switch-pitching phenom Cijntje in 18th round". MLB.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Krajisnik, Stefan (February 6, 2023). "Mississippi State baseball: Jurrangelo Cijntje only SEC switch pitcher". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Gardner, Steve (February 23, 2023). "Mississippi State switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje dazzles in first collegiate start". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Olson, Eric (February 27, 2023). "College Baseball Notebook: MSU pitcher brings heat both ways". AP News. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Jurrangelo Cijntje College Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "NCBWA announces 2024 Division I All-America Teams". ncbwa.com. June 12, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Collegiate All-Americans & Postseason Awards". Perfect Game. June 11, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "2024 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-Region Teams Announced". American Baseball Coaches Association. June 11, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "The Board". FanGraphs. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Kirshenbaum, Josh (August 30, 2024). "Mariners molding once-in-a-lifetime player". MLB.com. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  24. ^ Ellingsen, Max (July 14, 2024). "Seattle Mariners Select RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje in the First Round of the 2024 MLB Draft". Lookout Landing. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  25. ^ Franco, Anthony (July 16, 2024). "Mariners Agree To Deal With First-Rounder Jurrangelo Cijntje". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Kramer, Daniel (August 14, 2024). "Emerson tops Mariners' newest Top 30 Prospects list". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  27. ^ Seattle Mariners Player Development [@MsPlayerDev] (September 26, 2024). "Announcing our 2024 High Performance Camp roster! Camp gets started this Monday in Arizona to take our skills to the next level. #TridentsUp" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Seattle Mariners Player Development. @_loo.cijntje makes being a switch-pitcher look easy 👀 (Video) – via Instagram.
  29. ^ Callis, Jim (June 15, 2022). "Is this pitching prospect a righty or a lefty? Yes". MLB.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  30. ^ McGee, Ryan (April 19, 2024). "Like hitting a tire with a nail-spiked baseball: Jurrangelo Cijntje and the mastery of switch-pitching". ESPN. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  31. ^ Suggs, David (June 16, 2022). "Who is Jurrangelo Cjinte? Meet the 19-year old MLB hopeful who throws 90 mph with both hands". Sporting News. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  32. ^ Gay, Jason (May 17, 2024). "This Amazing Pitcher Throws 95 MPH Right-Handed—and 93 MPH Left-Handed". MSN.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  33. ^ Lacques, Gabe (July 14, 2024). "Rare switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje 'down to do everything' for Mariners after MLB draft". Detroit Free Press. USA Today. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
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