The Seattle Mariners had an incredibly interesting 2024 draft that could pay major-league dividends as soon as 2025.

With their first- and second-round draft picks, the Mariners selected switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje from Mississippi State and hard-throwing pitcher Ryan Sloan from high school, respectively. The team’s third-round pick, Kansas reliever Hunter Cranton, got the final strikeout Seattle’s Low-A affiliate, Modesto Nuts, to win a California League championship.

Cranton also recorded the highest average fastball velocity of any Mariners pitching prospect in 2024 at 97.2 miles per hour. He could make his major league debut as early as 2025 according to a story from the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude.

But Cijntje is arguably the most interesting player in Seattle’s 2024 draft class. He is the first legitimate ambidextrous pitching prospect since reliever (and former Mariner) Pat Venditte. Unlike Venditte, Cijntje projects as a quality starter with both left and right arms. His development will be one of the most exciting stories in the minor leagues in the coming seasons.

Cijntje hasn’t made a pitch in the game since being drafted, but he has become well-versed in Seattle’s organization. He visited the club’s Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, during their Texas League championship run and was part of the Mariners’ High Performance Camp in the fall.

And a recent one story from Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish indicated where Cijntje is likely to begin his professional career in 2025.

Divish laid out the projected 2025 starting rotations between the organization’s major league and minor league teams. And he listed Cijntje on the depth chart for the Nuts:

(Current depth chart)
Low-A Modesto:
Walter Ford, RHP
Pedro Lemos, RHP
Aneury Lora, RHP
Jurrangelo Cijntje, SP

Cijntje posted a 3.67 ERA over 16 starts with 113 strikeouts in 90.2 innings with Mississippi State in 2024. Hitters had just a .211 average against him.

Cijntje is an enigma and a double-edged sword rolled into one. In the same way that hitters and opponents will be ill-prepared for an ambidextrous pitcher, the stellar Mariners pitching development staff has also not coached a player of Cijntje’s skill set.

It makes sense for Seattle to start Cijntje in Modesto. The Nuts have won two straight California League championships. Cijntje would start in a low-stakes environment yet familiarize himself with a winning culture.

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