Anderson vs Cijntje: Mariners’ last two 1st-round picks square off

Seattle Mariners top pitching prospect and 2025 first-round draft pick Kade Anderson will take the mound for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers on Friday night.

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Anderson’s counterpart on the other side?

It’ll be none other than switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje – the Mariners’ 2024 first-round draft pick who they dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of the three-team trade for Brendan Donovan in February.

Yes, the Mariners’ top picks from the past two drafts are set to square off in a premier Texas League pitching matchup Friday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. Pacific time.

Anderson is ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Cijntje is MLB Pipeline’s No. 87 overall prospect, but isn’t in Baseball America’s Top 100.

The two highly touted pitching prospects are off to polar-opposite starts this season.

Anderson has been brilliant. The 21-year-old left-hander has a Texas League-leading 1.85 ERA through seven starts with Double-A Arkansas, with 51 strikeouts and just five walks over 34 innings. He also leads the league with a 0.76 WHIP and a sensational 41.1% strikeout rate.

Cijntje, meanwhile, has sputtered to a 6.06 ERA in eight starts with Springfield. He has 46 and 20 walks in 35 2/3 innings. He’s faced 152 batters as a right-handed pitcher and just 12 batters as a left-hander. All seven homers he’s surrendered have come while pitching from the right side.

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