Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who¡¯d be waiting for him in the batter¡¯s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening.

The Mariners¡¯ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, ¡°I¡¯m going to see you soon,¡± knowing the likelihood of what eventually took place during MLB Spring Breakout at Goodyear Ballpark.

Pitching in his first true game-like environment since being selected in the first round of last summer¡¯s MLB Draft, Cijntje knew that he¡¯d be called upon Friday after lefty Brandyn Garcia. But he wasn¡¯t quite sure he¡¯d match up against Bazzana, who was taken 14 picks ahead of him at No. 1 overall and was batting in the No. 2 hole.

Sometimes in baseball, the stars align.

Cijntje, who was seen warming in the bullpen with both arms before Garcia worked out of a fourth-inning jam, opted to go left-on-left against Bazzana to start the fifth, inducing a hard-chopping groundout to shortstop Brock Rodden on the first pitch. Cijntje then flipped his glove over and pitched right-handed the rest of the way -- even against seven more left-handed hitters.

¡°There was a lot of adrenaline," said Cijntje, who is the Mariners¡¯ No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even control my body, but I fought through it.¡±

Fate brought Bazzana back to the batter¡¯s box for Cijntje¡¯s final at-bat of the night, which was even more fascinating.

Cijntje took off his glove between batters as if he was going to go lefty to Bazzana, as he did the first time, but he surprised most when he instead remained righty. Cijntje then blew a 97 mph elevated four-seam fastball by Bazzana for a swinging strike three in a punctuating conclusion to his night.

¡°That's something special,¡± said Bazzana, Cleveland¡¯s No. 1 prospect and the No. 10 overall prospect in the game. ¡°You don't really see that ever. I think he's got a bright future, and it was cool to battle.¡±

So, Cijntje¡¯s first pitch of the outing was also his final from the left side, given that Bazzana swung and made contact right away, while his 39 other pitches over two innings were thrown right-handed. In total, he surrendered one unearned run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

¡°I was already in a rhythm, and I was like, ¡®I'm going to keep throwing from my right side,¡± Cijntje said.

There was also awe from his teammates.

¡°Dude, stop it,¡± said Mariners No. 12 prospect Tai Peete, who went 3-for-3 with a 422-foot homer and a stolen base while playing center field. ¡°I thought it was funny when he switched on the mound and everyone started cheering.¡±

The decision-making calculus for Cijntje to go right vs. left on Friday hinted at how the Mariners will leverage his ambidextrous skill set as he embarks on his player-development path.

Seattle intends to develop Cijntje as a right-handed starter, which is his better pitching arm and possesses a denser arsenal that features a higher-velocity four-seamer, slider, cutter and changeup. But the Mariners also don¡¯t want to sacrifice his lefty skill, because there is plus potential from that side, where he¡¯s up to 93 mph with a sinker/slider combo.

¡°It's going to be development-based more than matchup-based,¡± Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. ¡°Obviously, you want to put him in positions to succeed, and I don't think we want to put him in positions where he's pitching to a lot of right-handed hitters left-handed. But I do think we're all in alignment that he needs to develop right-handed to work against the platoon matchup. It can't be every left-handed hitter that comes up.¡±

There will be expected fluidity to Cijntje¡¯s routine.

The early plan is for him to start righty, and he may pitch left-on-left within that start but probably not all of them. Then in his in-between side session, which would come three days later, he¡¯d do so right-handed, then pitch an inning in relief while left-handed in whatever game falls on that same day.

¡°There is not a blueprint here at all,¡± Hollander said. ¡°We want to be honest. We don't want to talk confidently about how we definitely know the right answer here, because we definitely don't know the right answer. And I'm sure we'll have to make adjustments along the way.¡±

The Mariners have an idea of which Minor League affiliate that Cijntje will begin the season with, but they haven¡¯t yet told him. His goal is to reach Double-A Arkansas by season¡¯s end.

There will certainly be learning curves along the way, but his fascinating path to the Majors got started in a Breakout way on Friday night.