Mariners plan to have switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje focus on throwing with just one arm originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Jurrangelo Cijntje is a switch-pitcher.
Or at least, the Seattle Mariners‘ top-100 prospect was that unique commodity.
Now, though, the Mariners seem to be picking a side.
Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters that Cijntje will only throw right-handed during spring training games. They will still have him throw bullpens lefty, but that won’t be utilized in game action.
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It was a pretty logical decision that many anticipated.
Cijntje has much stronger stuff with his right arm, both a harder fastball and better breaking pitches.
In the minor leagues in 2025, batters hit .198 off the right-handed Cijntje and .289 off the left-handed Cijtnje.
Seattle was mostly having Cijntje throw one outing with one arm, then his next outing with the other arm, rather than switching batter-to-batter to gain a platoon advantage.
For now, it appears they’re removing that approach and just letting Cijntje throw with his superior arm.
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It certainly makes sense that he wouldn’t just be a magically equivalent pitcher from both sides. And if the stuff is good enough righty, there’s really no reason to mess with the other arm too much.
It’d obviously still be really cool if Cijntje could catch his left arm up with the right arm and make both viable at the major league level.
For now, though, that doesn’t appear to be the plan.
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