Mariners prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje shines as AquaSox blank Indians 8-0

A highly regarded pitching prospect in the Seattle Mariners’ organization showed impressive potential during his professional debut for High-A Everett, and a few rising names in the major league franchise’s farm system shined at the plate for the AquaSox, who rolled past the Spokane Indians 8-0 on Saturday.

Everett starter Jurrangelo Cijntje, the No. 9 overall prospect for the Mariners, made his long-awaited first pro start and pitched four effective innings. Four of the Mariners’ top-30 position-player prospects, including the overall top two, combined for 15 total bases as the AquaSox routed Northwest League foe Spokane at Avista Stadium.

Cijntje, a switch-pitcher, wasn’t asked to work for long, but the touted 21-year-old had a dynamic outing nonetheless. A first-round draft pick last year (15th overall) who has drawn much attention due to his ambidextrous ability, Cijntje surrendered one hit and two walks while striking out six over four innings and 58 pitches.

“All of that (attention) is good, but baseball is always the same,” said Cijntje, who’s ranked as the No. 2 pitching prospect in the Mariners’ system. “Just go out there and compete, and don’t try to do too much. I was anxious a little bit, but you have to try to dominate that and do what you have to do. We had a good plan. This is my first time competing at this level, and they didn’t want to (overwork) me. We’ll keep going forward with that plan, and everyone’s on the same page.”

Cijntje gave up a single in the first, then found his groove, sitting the Indians down in order in the second and third innings. Cijntje punched out the first batter of the second inning with his left-handed stuff, then induced a groundout before switching to his right hand for another strikeout. He showed off his right-handed talent in the third, mixing high-velocity fastballs and hard-breaking sliders to strike out the Spokane side. Cijntje said he hit 100 mph on the radar gun during that inning for the first time in his career.

“So, that was pretty good,” said the Curacao product and former Mississippi State star. “It’s just exciting to be back on the field. I was just trying to attack the hitters, get ahead, throw strikes. I was just attacking with the fastball, and the fastball was working, so I was staying with it.”

Cijntje seemingly leaned on his right-handed pitches for the majority of the outing, but he flipped his glove to the other hand and went southpaw for a few matchups.

“We talk about (switch-pitching strategy) a lot, like coaches will say, ‘You’re throwing this pitch better from the right side or left side,’ and we kinda just go back and forth,” Cijntje said. “They want to try to minimize the switch a little bit, so I can stay locked in on either side.”

Cijntje ran into some trouble in the fourth, walking two batters and throwing a wild pitch, but he stranded two Indians runners in scoring position.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Spokane outfielder Jared Thomas said of Cijntje. “Lucky enough, I faced him at the Under Armour All-America game in high school, so it was cool seeing him again. He looked pretty good. We’re looking forward to seeing him again.”

Three Everett relievers combined to allow one hit and two walks while striking out four over the remaining five innings as Spokane’s offense sputtered. Allan Saathoff claimed the win with two clean innings.

The AquaSox (2-0) chased Spokane starter Michael Prosecky in the third with back-to-back, two-out RBI hits from Lazaro Montes and Luis Suisbel, the No. 2 and 29 prospects, respectively, in the Mariners’ system.

Suisbel and two other top-30 prospects, catcher Josh Caron and outfielder Tai Peete, had hard-hit RBI singles in the seventh to extend the lead to 7-0.

Prosecky took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five over three innings. Reliever Braxton Hyde was solid for three innings, but first-year Spokane reliever Alan Perdomo struggled in the decisive seventh inning, surrendering three runs while recording one out.

Everett shortstop Colt Emerson, the No. 1 overall Seattle MLB prospect, finished 3 for 5 with a triple and a double. Montes went 1 for 2 with a triple and three walks. Suisbel batted 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI, and Caron and first baseman Milkar Perez both went 3 for 5 as the AquaSox outhit Spokane 14-2.

“Our hitters need to get in more of a groove and I know we’re capable of that,” Thomas said. “Dropping the first two games doesn’t feel too great, but we’ll get back on it. … I know the future’s promising. I’m excited to see what we’ve got (in store). It’s early, so we’re just trying to get our feet under us.”