Mariners' top pick Jurrangelo Cijntje credits father for inspiring switch pitcher play style, opens up on early development

Taking everyone by surprise, the Seattle Mariners drafted ambidextrous pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje out of Mississippi State University as the 15th overall pick on Sunday. Cijntje, who is naturally a left-hander, started throwing with his right hand at an early age.

His father, Mechangelo, a former professional ballplayer in the Netherlands, had him throw righty during his early years so that he could become a catcher. However, with training, his right hand eventually surpassed the velocity coming out of his left hand and that's when he decided to become a pitcher instead.

“I always wanted to throw from the right side, especially like mocking my dad,” Cijntje said via MLB.com. “So that's why I wanted to throw from the right side.”

MLB Pipeline has him ranked No. 25 in this year's draft class. According to MLB.com, the Curaçao native can hurl a ball close to 95 mph from his left arm while reaching 97–98 mph with his right.

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Mariners to let Jurrangelo Cijntje decide whether he wants to continue using both arms in minors

MLB: Draft (Imagn)

After picking Jurrangelo Cijntje, the Mariners said that they would let the pitcher continue to switch arms as he did during his time at Mississippi State.

“We're going to let Jurrangelo make that decision to start,” Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said. “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.”

Following a rough first year (3-5 with an 8.10 ERA), Jurrangelo Cijntje made an incredible comeback in his sophomore year, going 8-2 with a 3.67 ERA, 111 strikeouts and 30 walks in 90.2 innings.

Interestingly, he was drafted in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft but decided to play college baseball with Bulldogs instead. It seems the decision planned out well, as he will likely get a major league call up sooner than had he gone pro two years ago.