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Who is Jurrangelo Cijntje? Meet Mississippi State’s Ace, Top Prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft

Posted on by angelo
Who is Jurrangelo Cijntje? Meet Mississippi State’s Ace, Top Prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft

Pat Venditte took the MLB world by storm during the 2015 season with the Athletics.

Baseball fans had rarely seen a changeup pitcher. But Venditte, a 30-year-old reliever, has shown the ability to be a quality option in the bullpen with the ability to face hitters on either side of the plate and pitch against their strengths. Yet Venditte didn’t pitch much in the majors, playing in 61 games in five major league seasons and posting a 4.73 ERA. He last pitched in 2020 with the Marlins.

Today, a new two-handed pitcher has emerged in college baseball. Jurrangelo Cijntje was a mid-round prospect in the 2022 MLB draft class, and after being selected by the Brewers in the 18th round, he decided to attend Mississippi State.

The ability to change pitchers didn’t help him much as a rookie as he posted an 8.10 ERA in 14 games (13 starts). It was a different story as a sophomore. Cijntje stood out on the mound for the Bulldogs, with a 3.55 ERA.

MORE: NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional Bracket, TV Schedule

The season did more than help give the Bulldogs a unique ace; this propelled Cijntje to the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft as a draft-eligible sophomore.

Here’s what you need to know about Cijntje.

Who is Jurrangelo Cijntje?

Cijntje is a 21-year-old starting pitcher for Mississippi State.

Baseball has long been a staple for Cijntje. His father is Mechangelo Cijntje, who was a catcher in the Netherlands. Cijntje, naturally left-handed, liked to try out his father’s glove, according to MLB Pipeline, so his father had him throw balls with studs at a tire to try to improve his accuracy and make the baseball sticks in the tire.

Growing up, Cijntje played catcher and shortstop, two primarily right-handed positions, which allowed him to develop more strength in his right arm over the years.

The Cijntje family moved to Curacao when Mechangelo Cijntje’s career in the Netherlands ended, according to ESPN, and there Cijntje began to gain more recognition as a player. Cijntje became internationally recognized when he pitched for Curacao and helped lead the country to the Little League World Series. Curacao, a country under the Kingdom of the Netherlands, fell to Korea, beat Japan, and then was eliminated against Australia on the international stage. At the time, Cijntje only threw right-handed.

When Cijntje came to Miami to live with a cousin, his coach thought he looked good enough to throw to both ends, according to ESPN. As a pitcher at Champagnat Catholic High, he began going viral for his switch-throwing abilities. He had a 2.32 ERA with 166 strikeouts with just 39 hits and 31 walks allowed in 81 innings. This attention reached Venditte, who contacted Cijntje.

“I’ve spoken to him several times, the last time was just two weeks ago,” Jurrangelo said, according to ESPN. “He just told me, ‘Remember, you just have to keep doing your thing.’ But he’s also very nice, I can’t tell you much because you throw a lot harder than me.”

Cijntje was considered a mid-round draft prospect in 2022 as an undersized pitcher who stood out more for his right-handed throws than his left-handed throws, even though he could throw it up to 90 mph from left side.

“Being able to throw 90 mph with both hands puts Cijntje in an extremely tight circle of players, and he also has a roughly 80 mph slider on the right side that gives him an average secondary,” Baseball America wrote of Cijntje. “He throws a slower mid-70s curveball from the left side. Unlike many ambidextrous pitchers, Cijntje has real touch and feel with both arms and could be a legitimate two-way pitcher in the ‘Mississippi State if he makes it to campus.’

Cijntje was taken 552nd overall by the Brewers, as most teams expected him to eventually forgo the draft and instead go to Mississippi State.

He largely struggled in his true freshman season, posting an 8.10 ERA in 50 innings in his first season with the team. But he was an ace in his sophomore campaign, posting a 3.55 ERA and an 8-2 record in his 15 starts.

And Cijntje is now considered a possible first-round pick. In the 2024 MLB Draft rankings, he is ranked No. 31 by MLB Pipeline, No. 40 by Baseball America and No. 15 by The Athletic.

On Cijntje, MLB Pipeline described Cijntje as having a chance to make the big leagues and pitch to both sides, even though he primarily pitched right-handed at Mississippi State, including against some left-handed hitters. He notes that Cijntje throws a fastball, slider and changeup as a right-hander, reaching 98 mph, while he has a breaking ball and a low-90s fastball from the left side.

“You have to treat each arm differently,” Jurrangelo told ESPN. “Not everything is the same. You have to use different muscle memory on each side. Let’s say if I throw my breaking ball better to the right side, it depends on the arm angle I want to throw it at. That angle has won It doesn’t work the same way from the left They’re two totally different approaches to the same thing by the same person It’s not easy until you’ve done enough things to make it normal. ., I think, to do that.”

Pronunciation of Jurrangelo Cijntje

The Mississippi State Media Guide lists his name as pronounced Jur-rainge-uh-lo SAIN-ja.

Glove Jurrangleo Cijntje

Like past pitchers, Cijntje has a unique two-handed glove that will allow him to alternate as needed while he throws.

Jurrangelo Cijntje stats

Year Age G (GS) IP TIME K% BB% WHIP
2023 20 14 (13) 50 8.10 26.5% 14.3% 1.56
2024 21 15 (15) 83.2 3.55 30.9% 8.3% 1.10
Career — 29 (28) 133.2 5.25 29.1% 10.7% 1,272