Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening.
The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,” knowing the likelihood of what eventually took place during MLB Spring Breakout at Goodyear Ballpark.
Pitching in his first true game-like environment since being selected in the first round of last summer’s MLB Draft, Cijntje knew that he’d be called upon Friday after lefty Brandyn Garcia. But he wasn’t quite sure he’d match up against Bazzana, who was taken 14 picks ahead of him at No. 1 overall and was batting in the No. 2 hole.
Sometimes in baseball, the stars align.
Cijntje, who was seen warming in the bullpen with both arms before Garcia worked out of a fourth-inning jam, opted to go left-on-left against Bazzana to start the fifth, inducing a hard-chopping groundout to shortstop Brock Rodden on the first pitch. Cijntje then flipped his glove over and pitched right-handed the rest of the way -- even against seven more left-handed hitters.
“There was a lot of adrenaline," said Cijntje, who is the Mariners’ No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. “I couldn’t even control my body, but I fought through it.”
📩 SUBSCRIBE TO THE BASEBALL TRAVELER NEWSLETTER
Fate brought Bazzana back to the batter’s box for Cijntje’s final at-bat of the night, which was even more fascinating.
Cijntje took off his glove between batters as if he was going to go lefty to Bazzana, as he did the first time, but he surprised most when he instead remained righty. Cijntje then blew a 97 mph elevated four-seam fastball by Bazzana for a swinging strike three in a punctuating conclusion to his night.
“That's something special,” said Bazzana, Cleveland’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 10 overall prospect in the game. “You don't really see that ever. I think he's got a bright future, and it was cool to battle.”
You don't see this every day. #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/BC6QmG43JR
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) March 15, 2025
So, Cijntje’s first pitch of the outing was also his final from the left side, given that Bazzana swung and made contact right away, while his 39 other pitches over two innings were thrown right-handed. In total, he surrendered one unearned run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
“I was already in a rhythm, and I was like, ‘I'm going to keep throwing from my right side,” Cijntje said.
There was also awe from his teammates.
“Dude, stop it,” said Mariners No. 12 prospect Tai Peete, who went 3-for-3 with a 422-foot homer and a stolen base while playing center field. “I thought it was funny when he switched on the mound and everyone started cheering.”
The decision-making calculus for Cijntje to go right vs. left on Friday hinted at how the Mariners will leverage his ambidextrous skill set as he embarks on his player-development path.
Seattle intends to develop Cijntje as a right-handed starter, which is his better pitching arm and possesses a denser arsenal that features a higher-velocity four-seamer, slider, cutter and changeup. But the Mariners also don’t want to sacrifice his lefty skill, because there is plus potential from that side, where he’s up to 93 mph with a sinker/slider combo.
“It's going to be development-based more than matchup-based,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “Obviously, you want to put him in positions to succeed, and I don't think we want to put him in positions where he's pitching to a lot of right-handed hitters left-handed. But I do think we're all in alignment that he needs to develop right-handed to work against the platoon matchup. It can't be every left-handed hitter that comes up.”
There will be expected fluidity to Cijntje’s routine.
The early plan is for him to start righty, and he may pitch left-on-left within that start but probably not all of them. Then in his in-between side session, which would come three days later, he’d do so right-handed, then pitch an inning in relief while left-handed in whatever game falls on that same day.
“There is not a blueprint here at all,” Hollander said. “We want to be honest. We don't want to talk confidently about how we definitely know the right answer here, because we definitely don't know the right answer. And I'm sure we'll have to make adjustments along the way.”
The Mariners have an idea of which Minor League affiliate that Cijntje will begin the season with, but they haven’t yet told him. His goal is to reach Double-A Arkansas by season’s end.
There will certainly be learning curves along the way, but his fascinating path to the Majors got started in a Breakout way on Friday night.
Daniel Kramer covers the Mariners for MLB.com.
8/8 Game Postponed
Today's game between the Down East Wood Ducks and Myrtle Beach Pelicans is postponed due to inclement weather and the forecasted rain due to Hurricane Debby. The game will be made up as a part of a doubleheader in Myrtle Beach at a date and time to be determined. The
8/7 Game Postponed
Today's game (8/7) between the Wood Ducks and Pelicans is postponed due to inclement weather and the forecasted rain due to Hurricane Debby. At this time, a rescheduled date for this game is still to be determined based on the uncertainty of the forecast for the rest of the week.
8/6 Game Postponed
Today's game between the Wood Ducks and Pelicans is postponed due to inclement weather and the forecasted rain due to Hurricane Debby. At this time, a rescheduled date for this game is still to be determined based on the uncertainty of the forecast for the rest of the week. Fans
Woodies Go 5-1 Against the Peckers
7/28 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for family day and game six of the series. The 1st inning was three up and three down for the Woodpeckers and Wood Ducks. The Wood Ducks set the Woodpeckers down in order in the top of
Woodies beat the Peckers!
7/27 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for Pepsi Saturday and game 5 of the series. The Woodpeckers had two singles in the top of the 1st but left them on base. The Wood Ducks had a walk from Beycker Barroso in the bottom
Double the Games, Double the Wins!
Doubleheader Game Recap 7/26 By: Maddy Meehan GAME 1 The Wood Ducks hosted the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in a doubleheader. Game 1 started at 5pm. The Woodpeckers started the game with a strikeout, followed by a walk, and then a ground out including a double play. The Wood Ducks went three
7/25 Game Postponed
Due to field conditions, today’s game (July 25th) has been postponed. Tomorrow, Friday, July 26th will be a doubleheader with two 7-inning games. Once ticket will get you into both games. The first game will start at 5:00 pm with gates opening at 4:30 pm. The second game will start
Woodies fall to the Peckers in Game 2
7/24 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for winning Wednesday and game two of the series. In the top of the 1st the Woodpeckers were three up and three down. The Wood Ducks started the bottom of the 1st with a single from Echedry
Woodies Played Harder than the Peckers
7/23 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for Bark in the park and game one of the series. The Woodpeckers were three up and three down in the top of the 1st. The Wood Ducks were three up and three down in the bottom
Woodies Lose Game 6
7/14 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for family funday and the last game of the series. In the top of the 1st inning the Red Sox had one hit from Antonio Anderson but left him on base. In the bottom
Split the Doubleheader with the Red Sox
7/13 Game Recap By: Emily Brown Game 1 The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Christmas in July and a double header. In the top of the 1st the Red Sox had a single from Antonio Anderson and left him on first base. The Wood Ducks
Game 1 of the Doubleheader
7/12 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Mother Earth Friday and game three of the series. In the top of the 1st the Red Sox were three up and three down. In the bottom of the 1st Echedry Vargas hit
7/11 Game Postponed
Due to weather conditions, today’s game (July 11th) has been postponed. Tomorrow, Friday, July 12th will be a doubleheader with two 7-inning games. One ticket will get you into both games. The first game will start at 5:00 pm with gates opening at 4:30 pm. The second game will start
Red Sox Beat the Woodies
7/10 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Camp Day and game two of the series. The Wood Ducks started the bottom of the 1st Echedry Vargas strikes out swinging but made it on first base on a wild pitch by
Woodies were hot!
7/9 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Bark in the Park and game one of the series. The Red Sox were three up and three down in the top of the 1st. The Wood Ducks started the bottom of the
Woodies Fall to the Red Sox on Camp Day
7/10 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Camp Day and game two of the series. The Wood Ducks started the bottom of the 1st Echedry Vargas strikes out swinging but made it on first base on a wild pitch by
Errors on their side, Home Runs on Ours
7/9 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Down East Wood Ducks hosted the Salem Red Sox's for Bark in the Park and game one of the series. The Red Sox were three up and three down in the top of the 1st. The Wood Ducks started the bottom of the
Best Fireworks Around & Baseball too!
7/3 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Carolina Mudcats for the final game of their three game series. The Mudcats were three up and three down in the top of the 1st. In the bottom of the 1st the Wood Ducks had a single from Echedry
Woodies Reel in a W!
7/2 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Carolina Mudcats for Bark in the park and game two of a three game home stretch. The Mudcats started the top of the 1st with back to back singles from Daniel Guilarte and Yophrey Rodriguez. Then Cooper Pratt strikes
Woodies Win in Extras Against the Mudcats!
7/1 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Wood Ducks hosted the Carolina Mudcats for game one of a three game home stretch. The Mudcats started the top of the 4th with a walk for Filippo Di Turi. Yophery Rodriguez hits a ground ball which turns into a double play. Cooper
Collard Greens lose Game 6
6/16 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Collard Greens hosted the River Dogs for Sunday family fun day and game six of the series. In the top of the 1st the River Dogs got two players on base from a fielding error and a walk but left them there. The
Short but no Collards
6/15 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Collard Greens hosted the River Dogs for Pepsi Saturday and game five of the series. Both teams were three up and three down in the 1st inning with groundouts, flyouts, and a strikeout. In the top of the 2nd the River Dogs got
Collard Greens on a Hot Streak!
6/14 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Collard Greens hosted the River Dogs for Mother Earth Friday and game four of the series. The top of the 1st was three up and three down for the River Dogs with a popout, strikeout, and groundout. The bottom of the 1st was
Walk-Off Win Again!
6/13 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Collard Greens hosted the River Dogs for Thirsty Thursday and game three of the series. In the top of the 1st the River Dogs had one hit but left him on base. The Collard Greens were three up and three down in the
Walk-Off Win for the Collard Greens!
6/12 Game Recap By: Emily Brown The Collard Greens hosted the RiverDogs for camp day and game two of the series. The top of the 1st was three up and three down for the River Dogs. The bottom of the 1st started with a strikeout for the Collard Greens followed