Mariners take switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje from Mississippi State in first round

After three straight years of selecting high-school hitters in the first round of the MLB draft, the Mariners bucked that trend Sunday evening, selecting Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje in the opening round with the No. 15 overall selection in the draft.

Cijntje is known for pitching both left-handed and right-handed and he said at the draft site in Texas that he would like to continue pitching with both hands.

Cijntje, 21, was 8-2 this past season with a 3.67 earned-run average, with 111 strikeouts and 30 walks in 90 2/3 innings. He was ranked the No. 25 draft prospect by MLB.com.

“He’s obviously a unique athlete and a kid who speaks five languages,” said Scott Hunter, Mariners senior director of amateur scouting. “This is fun player. We’re going to sit down with him and see how he would like to attack it. But there is a huge advantage that he does do both.”

Although a natural lefty, he throws harder right-handed, reaching 97 to 98 miles per hour, said Hunter, who said Cijntje has a plus-slider and will also throw a changeup and a curve.

“The changeup wasn’t used much during the year, but it is something that could be an equalizer for a guy who can throw 98 miles an hour and make the ball move to both sides of plate and obviously spin the baseball the way he can,” Hunter said. “We really believe he’s going to thrive in the program we have already set for our pitchers.”

Hunter said Cijntje can hit 93 mph throwing left-handed.

“He’s probably a little crisper on the right-hand side, just because he uses it more than left-handed,” Hunter said. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen in my lifetime in scouting, let alone as a player, where someone can just pick up a baseball in between an inning, and go all right, ‘I’ll throw 93 miles per hour now with my left hand,’ and he can do that.”

Cijntje began throwing right-handed when he was 6, to be like his father, Mechangelo, who played professionally in the Netherlands.

Jurrangelo Cijntje grew up in Curacao and played in the 2016 Little League World Series. He moved to Miami when he was 16 and was drafted in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Champagnat Catholic High School by Milwaukee, but elected to play for Mississippi State.

Cijntje was 3-5 with an 8.10 ERA as a freshman in 2023, but made huge strides this season, and was named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game.

Cijntje was also on the Southeastern Conference academic honor roll in each of his two years in college.

The Mariners will conclude their selections on the first of three days of the draft with a pick in the second round (No. 55 overall).

This story will be updated