Jurrangelo Cijntje's season with Double-A Springfield hasn't been a smooth ride. But even when he's not at his best, the Cardinals' No. 4 prospect can still show flashes of pure brilliance.
Such was the case Saturday against Tulsa at ONEOK Field. Cijntje gave up four runs (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings, but he also struck out 10 batters, tying his career high as a pro. Three of those K's came against a couple of top 20 prospects in MLB; outfielder Josue De Paula (No. 9) struck out twice, and outfielder Zyhir Hope (No. 20) K'd once versus Cijntje.
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Of course, switch-pitching is Cijntje's superpower, and although he has functioned primarily as a right-hander this year, he did go southpaw for three at-bats against Tulsa. He got a groundout from Hope in the second inning, walked Griffin Lockwood-Powell one batter later and allowed a single to Kendall George in the fifth. De Paula followed that single with a two-run home run. Cijntje's night ended after he hit the next batter, Elijah Hainline, with a pitch.
Command has been an issue this year for Cijntje, MLB's No. 88 prospect. He's walked 20 batters and plunked four more in 35 2/3 innings. De Paula's homer was the seventh served up by him in eight starts, leading to a 6.06 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. However, Cijntje also has 46 strikeouts this season, giving him a solid 10.3 K/9 rate.
We'll see if he can better harness his stuff as the season progresses. Regardless, the 22-year-old Cijntje's ceiling remains sky-high.