After three straight years of selecting high-school hitters in the first round of the MLB draft, the Mariners bucked that trend Sunday evening, selecting Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje in the opening round with the No. 15 overall selection in the draft.
In the second round, the Mariners chose high-school pitcher Ryan Sloan with the 55th overall pick. It was a surprise Sloan was available at that spot as he was ranked the No. 19 draft prospect by MLB.com and No. 26 by Baseball America.
Cijntje is known for pitching both left-handed and right-handed and he said he would like to continue pitching with both hands.
"They said they would let me decide and I would like to stay from both sides," he said.
Cijntje, 21, was 8-2 this past season with a 3.67 earned-run average, with 111 strikeouts and 30 walks in 90 2/3 innings. He was ranked the No. 25 draft prospect by MLB.com and No. 24 by Baseball America.
"He's obviously a unique athlete and a kid who speaks five languages," said Scott Hunter, Mariners senior director of amateur scouting. "This is a fun player. We're going to sit down with him and see how he would like to attack it. But there is a huge advantage that he does do both."
Although a natural lefty, he throws harder right-handed, reaching 97 to 98 mph, said Hunter, who said Cijntje has a plus-slider and will also throw a changeup and a curve.
"The changeup wasn't used much during the year, but it is something that could be an equalizer for a guy who can throw 98 miles an hour and make the ball move to both sides of plate and obviously spin the baseball the way he can," Hunter said. "We really believe he's going to thrive in the program we have already set for our pitchers."
Hunter said Cijntje, 5 feet 10 and 200 pounds, can hit 93 mph throwing left-handed.
"He's probably a little crisper on the right-hand side, just because he uses it more than left-handed," Hunter said. "But I don't think I've ever seen in my lifetime in scouting, let alone as a player, where someone can just pick up a baseball in between an inning, and go all right, 'I'll throw 93 miles per hour now with my left hand,' and he can do that."
Cijntje said his best pitch left-handed is his slider, but also mentioned his sinker.
"From the right side, I would right now say my slider is my best (pitch), but I think my changeup can get way better than my slider," he said.
Cijntje began throwing right-handed when he was 6, to be like his father, Mechangelo, who played professionally in the Netherlands.
Jurrangelo Cijntje grew up in Curacao and played in the 2016 Little League World Series. He moved to Miami when he was 16 and was drafted in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Champagnat Catholic High School by Milwaukee, but elected to play for Mississippi State.
Cijntje was 3-5 with an 8.10 ERA as a freshman in 2023, but made huge strides this season and was named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game.
Cijntje was also on the Southeastern Conference academic honor roll in each of his two years in college.
"Two years ago, I was taken in the 18th round," he said. "Today it was first round. So I think that it helped me to go to college."
Cijntje said he began following the Mariners after having good conversations with team officials at the MLB draft combine last month.
"I want to say thank you to them," Cijntje said. "I am grateful to them for giving me this chance and I'm ready to go to work."
Sloan, 6 feet 5 and 220 pounds, has a fastball that is normally around 95 to 96 mph, according to Hunter, and "some of our scouts saw him up to 100 last year."
Sloan, who committed to Wake Forest, had an ERA of 0.39 over 46 2/3 innings for York Community High School in Elm Hurst, Ill., this past season. He struck out 90 and walked five and was named the Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year.
"We're excited to get two picks on day one that we felt were first-round talents," Hunter said. "If you can dream of a high-school pitcher being No. 1 or No. 2 in a rotation at the major-league level, it's kind of worth (the risk)."
Hunter didn't seem too concerned about getting Sloan signed.
"He was already wearing a Mariners hat when I talked to him on FaceTime," Hunter said. "So I think we're in a pretty good spot."
The draft continues for the next two days. Rounds three through 10 will take place Monday and rounds 11 through 20 will happen Tuesday.
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