Cijntje began his freshman season with the Bulldogs as a mid-week starting pitcher.[15] In his first collegiate start, he struck out seven Louisiana–Monroe batters, six while pitching right-handed and one as a lefty, while allowing one hit and one walk over four innings.[16][17] He finished the season with a 3–5 record and 8.10 ERA in 14 games, 13 of the starts. He had 63 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched.[18]
As a sophomore in 2024, Cijntje was named a second-team All American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association[19] and Perfect Game[20] and was named to the South All-Region first team by the American Baseball Coaches Association.[21] He finished the season with an 8–2 record and 3.67 ERA over 16 starts. He had 113 strikeouts in 90+2⁄3 innings pitched.[18] Cijntje pitched primarily as a righty in 2024, not throwing a pitch left-handed for the final month of the season.[22] Mississippi State pitching coach Justin Parker said Cijntje would often forego the platoon advantage and pitch with his right arm to left-handed batters to improve his consistency. Parker said Cijntje has higher velocity and better command with his right arm but induces more groundballs as a lefty.[23]
Professional career
Cijntje was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on July 14, 2024.[3][24] Cijntje signed a $4.88 million contract with the Mariners on July 16.[25] Following the draft, he was ranked as the Mariners' #7 prospect by MLB.com and the organization's #9 prospect by FanGraphs.[26][22] Cijntje did not pitch for the Mariners in 2024 but participated in the team's High Performance Camp at their Arizona complex in October.[27][28]
Personal life
Cijntje's father, Mechangelo, played baseball professionally in the Netherlands as a catcher.[29][30] Cijntje is naturally left-handed[31][32] and began throwing when he was six years old to mimic his father.[10]
Cijntje is friends with Ozzie Albies.[8] As a child, Cijntje's favorite baseball player was Andruw Jones, who is also Curaçaoan.[33] In high school, he said his favorite MLB pitchers were lefty Clayton Kershaw and righty Marcus Stroman,[11] who scouts have compared him to given their similar size.[3]
Cijntje can speak fluent English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento.[11]
