Mariners fans know better than to fall for MLB's Jurrangelo Cijntje mythmaking

Spend enough time on the internet, and you'll inevitably come across something that makes you go, "Really? We're still doing this?" We bring it up only because it's the only appropriate reaction for Seattle Mariners fans to MLB's latest effort to hype Jurrangelo Cijntje.

If anyone missed it, this was the X post that the league's official account sent out on Friday:

As he is a former first-round pick who was a key piece of the Mariners' trade for Brendan Donovan, there's nothing wrong with MLB hyping Cijntje as a prospect worth watching. It's just that hyping him in this way is misleading.

It shows that he can pitch with both hands, which is true. But it also implies that Cijntje is still a switch-pitcher, which is at best a half-truth.

After the Mariners had already set the plan, the St. Louis Cardinals wasted no time in agreeing that the 23-year-old Netherlands native should be a right-handed pitcher first and a left-handed pitcher second. And they have followed through on that to such an extent that his splits at Double-A look like this:

• Batters Faced as RHP: 229
• Batters Faced as LHP: 17

This alone indicates that Cijntje's lefty pitching is less of a tool and more of a parlor trick. And then you have the numbers. When he pitches lefty, batters are 3-for-11 against him with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).

The Cardinals can still hope that Jurrangelo Cijntje is more than just a gimmick

None of this is surprising. Or at least, it shouldn't be to Mariners fans who followed Cijntje's minor league career after the team took him with the No. 15 pick in the 2024 draft.

Though the Mariners did right by him to let him keep up the switch-pitching act that attracted attention while he was with Mississippi State, the writing was on the wall by the end of 2025 that it was not a viable act in the pros. He got crushed as a lefty last season, allowing an OPS over 1.000 to both left- and right-handed batters.

The bright side then remains the bright side now. His right arm is legit, as he can touch 100 mph and is considered to have an above-average slider. If he can develop a reliable third pitch, he has upside as a top-of-the-rotation starter. If not, he could at least be closer material out of the bullpen.

As things stand now, though, Cijntje's stock as a prospect is in an uncertain place. He has a 5.07 ERA through 12 starts this season, and he's no longer counted as a top-100 talent by Baseball America. Even by prospect standards, he's less of a sure thing and more of a project.

As of this writing, MLB's post on X has 471,000 views. It's great that Cijntje is getting the exposure, and one certainly hopes that more awaits him in the majors. However, one also hopes that he doesn't arrive to outdated expectations for what he can do.

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