First Seattle, now St. Lou: "Loo" Cijntje spins scoreless start with new org
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In 2025, “switch-pitcher Saturdays” were a Minor League phenomenon. Each week, Jurrangelo Cijntje would take the mound, leaving everyone guessing as to which hand would don the ambidextrous glove as a new opponent took the batter’s box.
This year, things look a little different for Cijntje. For one, his first start fell on a Friday. More notably, he was traded in the offseason as part of the Brendan Donovan deal, going from the Mariners to the Cardinals. While his first start in Redbirds' red featured him pitching right-handed in all but one at-bat, the Cardinals’ No. 5 prospect struck out seven across 5 2/3 innings en route to a 10-1 Springfield victory over Amarillo in the hitter-friendly HODGETOWN.
Following his first-round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, Cijntje made his pro debut last season. He spent the majority of his time with High-A Everett before receiving an August promotion to Double-A and the Texas League he finds himself returning to at the start of '26. With Arkansas, Seattle's Double-A affiliate, he sported a 2.67 ERA over seven starts, striking out 37 batters in the process.
Before he was dealt, the Mariners expressed a desire to see if Cijntje could maximize his upside by focusing solely on throwing right-handed. The Cardinals haven't wanted to close the book on pitching lefty entirely -- hence the one batter faced Friday, a walk -- but the switch-pitching sensation faced 19 of his 20 batters right-handed in his first start for Springfield.
Throughout the course of his outing, Cijntje (whose nickname is "Loo," short for Jurrangelo), struck out Cristofer Torin, Jansel Luis and Druw Jones (twice), all of whom are members of the Diamondbacks’ Top 30 Prospects list. In total, he racked up 11 swings-and-misses and only had one batter reach second base.
So while “switch-pitcher Saturday” might be on ice for now, Friday’s display was the first illustration of what "Loo" could one day bring to the Lou.