Jurrangelo Cijntje delivered one of the strongest starts of his professional career Thursday, but his impressive outing was cut short after the switch-pitcher appeared to suffer a right hamstring injury.
The Cardinals’ No. 12 prospect attacked exclusively from the right side while pitching for Triple-A Memphis against Durham. Cijntje dominated the Bulls for 6 1/3 innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters before leaving the game in the seventh inning.
Cijntje’s injury occurred with one out in the bottom of the seventh. After issuing his first walk of the night to Oliver Dunn on four pitches, the 23-year-old appeared to experience discomfort around his right hamstring on the final delivery.
Memphis manager Ben Johnson, athletic trainer Riku Shibata and several infielders quickly gathered around the mound to check on Cijntje. The young right-hander was eventually removed from the game and walked off the field under his own power alongside Shibata.
Despite the unfortunate ending, Cijntje had already put together a remarkable performance. He struck out the side in the opening inning before recording three strikeouts in each of the second, third and fourth innings. He added two more punchouts across the fifth and sixth frames to establish a new professional career high.
His previous best was 10 strikeouts, a mark he first recorded with High-A Everett on Aug. 2, 2025, before matching it with Double-A Springfield on May 16.
Cijntje finished the night after throwing 72 pitches, including 53 strikes. He surrendered just two hits and one walk through his outing. The only run charged to him came after he departed, when reliever Ryan Murphy allowed an RBI single.
The 2024 first-round selection also generated plenty of swing-and-miss stuff. His 17 swings and misses tied Orioles prospect Juaron Watts-Brown for the most recorded by a Triple-A pitcher Thursday. Cijntje also threw the five fastest pitches of the game for his side, reaching 97.9 mph with his four-seam fastball.
His fastball-slider combination produced 16 total whiffs, highlighting the potential that made him the 15th overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Cijntje joined the Cardinals organization earlier this year after being acquired from the Seattle Mariners as part of the Brendan Donovan trade in February. He was promoted from Springfield to Triple-A on July 15 and had struggled in his first four appearances at the higher level, allowing 16 earned runs across 18 innings.
Thursday’s performance helped lower his Triple-A ERA to 6.29.
The switch-pitcher has recorded 132 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings across two levels this season. Overall, he owns a 5.33 ERA and 1.40 WHIP during his second professional campaign.
Cijntje’s unusual pitching ability stems from his upbringing. His father, Mechangelo, pitched in the Netherlands, and Jurrangelo grew up wanting to throw right-handed despite naturally being a lefty. He even learned to pitch with his father’s glove and developed the ability to throw effectively with both arms.
Although Cijntje has experience pitching from both sides, he has been particularly effective as a right-hander and has primarily worked from that side this season.
The Cardinals will now await further information regarding Cijntje’s hamstring before determining his next steps. His injury-free status will be worth monitoring closely, especially given the encouraging performance he delivered before leaving Thursday’s game.
Leave a Reply