Cardinals Reveal Plan for Electric Switch-Pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje

The St. Louis Cardinals have one more the most interesting prospects in baseball.

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol walks back to the dugout after a pitching change against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals acquired one of the most unique prospects in baseball this offseason by landing Jurrangelo Cijntje from the Seattle Mariners in the Brendan Donovan trade.

Cijntje was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft by the Mariners out of Mississippi State University. What makes the 22-year-old stand out above all else is the fact that he's ambidextrous. It's certainly not common to see a guy who can throw a baseball over 90 miles per hour with both arms.

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92 MPH lefty one pitch
95 MPH righty the next one

Jurrangelo Cijntje is electric ⚡️ #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/sZy7Tmlu3A

— MLB (@MLB) March 15, 2025

Insane.

The Cardinals have a plan

Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred takes a photo with Jurrangelo Cijntje after being drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 15th pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

When Cijntje was acquired, the biggest question that popped up almost immediately was whether he would continue pitching with both arms in games. Chaim Bloom addressed the question and noted that the team was open to everything, but view him similarly as Seattle did, stronger from the right side.

"Broadly speaking, we see his strengths and his upside similarly to Seattle," Bloom said. "This is something that actually came up over the course of the conversations, not just over weeks, but months even talking to Seattle about how they saw him. He's such a unique player. I don't want to get too specific just because we owe it to ourselves and to him to get to know him a little bit first. But when you look at stuff, the command, the upside, it's not a shock that they were prioritizing the right side. They still, and Jurrangelo, I know, is passionate about keeping up the left side I think for any number of reasons, including the fact that he's gotten to this point with a routine that is specific to him that you don't want to disrupt too much without good reason."

Now, Spring Training is in full swing. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol gave an updated look at his role with the organization and noted that in big league camp, he will pitch in games and live batting practice from the right side. When he's doing other things, like bullpens, he'll work from both sides.

“What we’ve committed to for big-league camp is that he will throw from the right side when he’s in games or lives,” Marmol said as transcribed by STL Sports Central's Brenden Schaeffer. “And then he will continue to work from both sides otherwise.”

Whether he's pitching both ways, or just from the right side, the sky is the limit for this kid and St. Louis is fortunate to have him for years to come.

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