Latest news with #NorthwestLeague
Vancouver Sun
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Mariners switch pitching prospect brings 90 MPH fastballs from both sides to Nat Bailey
The Vancouver Canadians' scouting report on Everett AquaSox pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje is bound to be a little longer than most, considering they need to account for him throwing both right- and left-handed. The 21-year-old Seattle Mariners' farmhand is doing his best to push 'switch-pitcher' into today's baseball vernacular. This isn't a novelty act, either, with the Mariners picking Cijntje in the first round (No. 15 overall) in the 2024 Entry Draft out of Mississippi State and giving him a US$4.88 million signing bonus. The MLB Pipeline has Cijntje (pronounced sane-ja) as the No. 92 prospect in the entire minor leagues as part of their updated top 100 list that came out Sunday. He remains at No. 8 on Seattle's top 30 list. According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, his fastball touches 98 m.p.h. as a right-hander, and he complements it with a slider and a change-up. As a lefty, it's a low-90s fastball with a sweeper, and he does throw from a lower arm slot. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The C's, who are the Toronto Blue Jays' high-A affiliate, start a six-game Northwest League set with the AquaSox on Tuesday at Nat Bailey Stadium. Starting pitchers for the entire series haven't been announced yet, but Cijntje has been Everett's Saturday starter of late. Tickets are available at the C's website . Promotions this week include Asahi baseball tribute night on Tuesday and women-in-sports-day on Saturday, featuring an appearance by Sportsnet's Hazel Mae. Jurrangelo Cijntje's ability to pitch with both hands makes him unique, but the @Mariners ' up-and-coming phenom is also starting to turn a corner for the @EverettAquaSox : Cijntje is trying to enter rare territory, considering the majors hasn't seen a pitcher throw with both arms regularly since reliever Pat Venditte, whose 61-game, five year career in the bigs came to an end in 2020. He had been tagged as the first hurler to do such a thing on a consistent basis at that level since 1901. Montreal Expos fans may recall 39-year-old righty Greg Harris pitching lefty to two batters in what was the second to last game of his 15-year big league career in 1995. That ended up getting some traction as a news story back then. Cijntje was born in Gravenhage, Netherlands, and raised largely in Willemstad, Curaçao . He's a natural southpaw, but he always wanted to be like his dad Michelangelo, who was a righty-throwing catcher, so he practised throwing with both hands. He played for Curaçao in the 2016 Little League World Series. His family sent him to Hialeah, Fla., to live with cousins while he played high school baseball. That led him to Mississippi State, and to where he is now. He recorded the win last Saturday in Everett's 3-1 triumph over the Tri-City Dust Devils after allowing two hits and one earned run in five innings, while striking out six and walking two. Tri-City put out a lineup with two lefty batters and two switch-hitters. Cijntje pitched left-handed just three times; Tri-City was 0-for-2 with a walk against him in those instances. When he pitched right-handed, Tri-City was 2-for-15 (including a solo home run by lefty-hitting outfielder Anthony Scull in the fifth inning), with six strikeouts, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. The Mariners have had him throwing predominantly righty this season. He's faced 120 hitters so far with Everett, according to Baseball Reference, and he's gone from the right side 90 times. Opposing batters are hitting .167 (13-of-78) when he's a righty and .316 (6-of-19) when he's a lefty. Latest edition of switch-pitcher Saturday with Jurrangelo Cijntje 🎉 @EverettAquaSox | @MsPlayerDev | @Mariners On the season, he's 2-2, with a 5.27 ERA, in nine games, including six starts. He has been much better as a starter (.194 opponents' batting average) than a reliever (.444 opponents' batting average). At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Cijntje is on the smaller side by pitcher standards today. He's drawn comparisons with one-time Vancouver hurler Marcus Stroman in that regard. If Cijntje can get the two-sided thing to work, it would be a distinct advantage. Teams used to be able to bring in a reliever to face one specific hitter. That's no longer allowed. Pitchers have to face three hitters or last until the end of the inning before they can be replaced. And hitters still fare much better against pitchers from the opposite side. According to Baseball Reference, lefty batters in the big leagues in 2024 hit 12 points higher (.249 compared with .237) and were 44 points better in slugging percentage (.410 compared with .366) against right-handed pitchers compared with left-handers. The C's (15-18) feature the current Northwest League player of the week in infielder/outfielder Adrian Pinto, 22, who hit .467 (7-for-15) with three homers, five RBIs and six runs scored against the Spokane Indians in four games last week. Pinto and Vancouver shortstop Arjun Nimmala, 19, are tied for the league lead in homers with Everett outfielder Lazaro Montes, 20, each with seven. Nimmala is up to No. 59 from 78 on this weekend's updated MLB Pipeline Top 100 list . He's No. 1 on the Toronto list compiled by MLB Pipeline. Everett (14-18) features the top two on Seattle's MLB Pipeline list in shortstop Colt Emerson, 19, and Montes, respectively. Emerson is No. 19 on the Top 100 list, Montes is No. 36. SEwen@
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Opening Day 2025: Spokane Indians roster features six top-30 prospects, 15 returning players for Northwest League title defense
Apr. 3—The Colorado Rockies assigned 30 players to the Spokane Indians' roster on Monday for the start of the 2025 Northwest League season, which opens Friday against the Everett AquaSox at Avista Stadium. The roster for the defending champions includes 15 returning players and six of Colorado's top 30 prospects. Advertisement The Indians' offense should be led by outfielder Jared Thomas, first baseman Aidan Longwell and shortstop Braylen Wimmer. Thomas, the Rockies' No. 12 prospect, was the 42nd overall pick in last year's draft out of University of Texas and shined in a brief cameo with Fresno. Longwell (.313/.403/.425) and Wimmer (14 HR, 64 RBIs, 34 SB) were both lineup stalwarts for the Grizzlies. Local standout Stu Flesland III, who pitched at Mt. Spokane High School and the University of Washington, will join a pitching staff that also features Rockies No. 14 prospect Jordy Vargas and No. 23 prospect Welinton Herrera. Vargas missed all of 2024 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Advertisement Returning players on this year's squad include EJ Andrews Jr, Jesus Bugarin, Cade Denton, Konner Eaton, Braxton Hyde, Cole Messina (Rockies No. 28 prospect), Skyler Messinger, Jesus Ordonez, Albert Pacheco, Davis Palermo, Andy Perez (Rockies No. 22 prospect), Jean Perez, Michael Prosecky (Rockies No. 30 prospect) and Felix Ramires. The Indians enjoyed a dominant season in 2024, winning both halves of the Northwest League season and the overall regular-season title, finishing at 79-51 (.608), 10 1/2 games ahead of second-place Vancouver. The Indians went on to defeat the Canadians 3-1 in the championship series. The Indians won the deciding Game 4 at Gonzaga University's Patterson Baseball Complex, since Avista Stadium was in the process of renovations for the 2025 season. It was the 20th professional title in Spokane's rich baseball history and first since 2008.
