The 2024 MLB Draft is coming up on July 14, and the Seattle Mariners own the 15th pick in the first round. In the last three years, they've selected high school bats (Harry Ford, Cole Young and Colt Emerson).
This year, many pundits are expecting for the Mariners to go with pitching. According to a mock draft from the Athletic's Keith Law posted on Thursday, Seattle might go with arguably the most polarizing prospect in this year's class.
Law projected the Mariners to select switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje out of Mississippi State, and had this to say about Seattle's potential selection:
"I’ve heard the Mariners covet Cijntje, and prefer pitching to hitting at this spot; if the latter is true, and (Chase Burns), (Hagen Smith), and (Trey Yesavage) are gone, there is no viable alternative among college pitchers to the Curacaoan left-and-right-hander."
Cjintje has long been heralded, and panned, for his ability to pitch proficiently with both hands. Some analysts and pundits have said his ability to do both makes him a can't miss prospect, and others have said the likelihood of him pitching well with both hands at the major league level is slim.
Cjintje has been clocked throwing 95 miles an hour with with his left hand and 98 miles per hour with his right. While at Mississippi State in 2024, he struck out 113 batters in 16 games and 90.2 innings pitched and had a 3.67 ERA.
According to MLB Pipeline, Cijntje's fastball graded at 60 on the website's 20-80 scale, his slider graded at 55 and his changeup clocked in at an average score of 50.
Seattle is lacking in top prospect pitching. Logan Evans is currenetly clocking in at No. 80 on Baseball America's recent top 100 list. Evans is the team's only pitcher to be featured on the list.
Cijntje would add some more starting potential to the Mariners' farm system and would give Seattle a polarizing prospect that is sure to generate some national attention.
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