Jurrangelo Cijntje records outs as lefty and righty in Double-A game

There's only been one Major League Baseball (MLB) switch-pitcher in 125 years. It was Pat Venditte, who pitched in the Tokyo 2020 Europe/Africa Qualifier for Italy and, from 2015 to 2020, pitched 61 MLB games out of the bullpen for the Oakland A's, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Miami Marlins.

WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup alum Jurrangelo Cijntie is trying to become the second. On Tuesday, April 21, he pitched 4.2 innings for Springfield, the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in a 5-4 win against the Midland Rockhounds, the Athletics affiliate.

Cijntje started one inning with a strikeout as a right-hander. He then switched sides and induced a groundout as a left-hander. Finally, he switched back to right-hander to finish off the frame. He induced swinging strikes from both sides of the mound.

Cijntie was born near The Hague, Netherlands, in 2003, and grew up between Europe and Curaçao. After representing the Netherlands in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2018 as a switch-hitting infielder, he moved to Miami, USA. Cijntie attended Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah, where he played baseball as a switch-hitter and switch pitcher. He committed to play for Mississippi State University before his senior season. He did not sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, who selected him in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB draft as a shortstop, and started his collegiate career.

He started 13 games for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in his freshman season. After his sophomore season, he was named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. In his second collegiate season, he started 16 games, pitching primarily as a right-hander.

The Seattle Mariners selected Cijntje with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on July 14, 2024. He signed for a US$4.88m bonus with the Mariners on July 16. Following the draft, he was ranked as the Mariners' #7 prospect by MLB.com.

He made his Minor League Baseball (MiLB) debut in 2025 and pitched 26 games, starting 23, between the Class A Advanced and the Double-A levels.

In February 2026, the Mariners traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals along with outfielder Colton Ledbetter and outfielder Tai Peete to get All-Star utility infielder Brendan Donovan.

Cijntie has started four games so far for St.Louis Double-A affiliate. MLB rates his as the Cardinals No. 5 prospect.