SEATTLE -- Jurrangelo Cijntje taught himself to throw right-handed when his father -- a professional catcher in the Netherlands -- told him that lefties couldn¡¯t catch.

The young Cijntje almost did too good a job.

Moving from Curacao to Miami to play high school ball at Champagnat Catholic in Hialeah, Fla., Cijntje -- who first developed into a shortstop -- nearly gave up being a southpaw entirely, focusing the right hand that was already throwing harder than his left. But when his coach wanted to move him to the mound, he forced Cijntje back into southpaw ways. And he wasn¡¯t willing to let a jam change his mind.

¡°I walked like three batters, but he was like, ¡®You¡¯re not switching. You¡¯re staying from the left side,¡¯¡± Cijntje said. ¡°I get out of the inning, and he was like, ¡®You¡¯re going to thank me one day.¡¯¡±

¡°One day¡± came Tuesday at T-Mobile Park, when Cijntje -- Seattle¡¯s first-round pick in this year¡¯s Draft -- signed with the Mariners. His deal included a slot-value signing bonus of $4,880,900 -- first reported by MLB.com¡¯s Daniel Kramer -- the largest given out by Seattle since Emerson Hancock in 2020.

The Mariners also welcomed their second-round pick, right-handed high school pitcher Ryan Sloan, signing him well over-slot with an even $3 million bonus. The duo¡¯s combined bonus of $7.88 million is the most the Mariners have spent on a pair of picks in at least a decade.

Seattle has now signed 16 of its 20 Draft picks -- including each of its first eight selections. The Mariners have until Aug. 1 to sign the remaining four to contracts.

? Mariners Draft signings tracker

The two pitchers spoke to the media for the first time before the Mariners¡¯ game against the Angels on Tuesday, after getting a tour of Seattle and coming to the ballpark to sign their contracts.

For Sloan, the standout experience was a trip to Pike Place Market to watch fish vendors toss salmon around.

Cijntje¡¯s first focus was on another Seattle icon.

¡°I just saw Ichiro,¡± Cijntje said. ¡°I got to talk to him and shake his hand. I think that¡¯s pretty awesome.¡±

Now both are set to travel to the Mariners¡¯ complex in Arizona, where their paths will differ a bit.

Cijntje, coming off two seasons of SEC baseball at Mississippi State, will have a more baseball-focused time, getting into workouts and bullpens soon. For Sloan, who was taking high school classes a month and a half ago, it may be a slightly slower process -- at least to start.

¡°As far as I know, it¡¯s kind of me getting used to life, living on my own and being out in Arizona, getting used to the daily routine and things they do at the higher level,¡± Sloan said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it from there. I¡¯ll be at home for most of the winter training there, but end up coming back to Arizona in the spring and see what happens there.¡±

While they¡¯re in the desert, Sloan will have plenty of time to pick Cijnjte¡¯s brain -- and try on his six-fingered, two-way glove.

¡°It¡¯s actually kind of crazy, just the fact that he can throw with both arms,¡± Sloan said. ¡°Like, how do you even do that? I don¡¯t even know. Meeting him, he¡¯s a super cool guy, very easy to talk to, very down-to-earth. I like being around people who have the same goals as me, and being with him, it¡¯s very easy.¡±