St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje entered the pro ranks as a switch-pitcher who could serve as both a power righty and a crafty lefty. However, that seems unlikely as he nears his debut with the club in 2027.
Baseball America published an article on Cijntje and how he's transitioned into almost exclusively a right-handed starting pitcher. In 28 starts, he pitched to a 4.87 ERA between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. The run-prevention results improved when he jumped from the hitter-friendly Texas League to the International League, as he went from a 5.04 ERA to 4.61.
Entering the 2027 season, Cijntje currently ranks as the No. 12 prospect in the Cardinals system according to MLB Pipeline. He's listed behind Liam Doyle, Quinn Mathews, Tanner Franklin, Tegan Kuhns, and Brandon Clarke. FanGraphs has him as their No. 4 prospect in their updated 2026 rankings. Both publications have his MLB ETA for the 2027 season.
Why Converting Jurrangelo Cijntje to a Full-Time RHP Makes Sense for the Cardinals
For the Cardinals, it makes sense to shut down the switch-pitcher experiment in what's essentially his 40-man season. Cijntje gives them more long-term value as a right-hander in their rotation, while pitching as a left-hander creates more risk than reward.
The focus for Cijntje in 2027 should be full development as a right-handed starter. He features a five-pitch mix: a four-seamer, sinker, slider, sweeper, and changeup. His four-seamer averaged 96.2 MPH in Triple-A.
There isn't much of a concern with how he'll handle left-handed hitters. Cijntje held them to a .223/.295/.340 slash with 77 strikeouts to 24 walks as a right-hander in 2026. As a left-handed pitcher, he faced 27 lefties and walked seven of them.
Cjintje becomes Rule 5 eligible in the offseason, but he'll make his MLB debut before the 2027 season ends. He's got 12 starts at the highest level of the minor leagues. So it will be a matter of getting a final tune-up in Memphis to start the season, then waiting for the right opportunity to start in the big leagues.
Cardinals Rotation Situation Entering the Offseason
The Cardinals currently have a projected rotation of Kyle Leahy, Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, and Quinn Mathews going into the offseason. All five starters carry multiple years of team control, with Pallante's two years being the shortest.
St. Louis will have to be cognizant of both Cjintje and Doyle's impending debut. Both pitching prospects will likely debut in the second half of 2027, although an injury could speed up that timeline.
Last offseason, they took a flyer on Dustin May. That turned out well for them, as he turned into a trade chip at the deadline and netted the Cardinals a couple of highly-regarded outfield prospects from the Brewers.
The Cardinals could make a couple of moves to ensure that both Doyle and Cjintje aren't blocked. That could mean selling high on Palante, who's coming off a 3.83 ERA/3.74 FIP season in 2026. He doesn't miss a ton of bats, with a 16.2% strikeout rate, but gets ground balls at a 62.1% clip.
The other move would be to move bump Liberatore out of the rotation. The left-hander is arbitration-eligible this offseason. He carries a 4.82 ERA for his career. It's unlikely the Cardinals non-tender him, since he was an effective bottom-of-the-rotation arm as recently as 2025 (1.8 fWAR).
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