Switch hitters in baseball are common …but switch pitchers?

Mississippi State’s Jurrangelo Cigntje launches pitches with both his right and left arm and ranks with the top hurlers in the tough Southeastern Conference.

Heading into this week the sophomore had a 7-1 record, 3.57 earned run average with 89 strikeouts in 70.2 innings for the Bulldogs.

He mostly throws right-handed to right-handed hitters and goes lefty to lefties, with some exceptions. He has been timed as fast as 92 mph with his right arm and 97 mph as a southpaw.

Cigntje (pronounced SAIN-ja) makes a smooth transition from one arm to the other. On the mound he wears a $500 Rawlings ambidextrous glove.

Baseball fans may remember him as part of the Curacao team that played in the 2016 Little League World Series.

He was 16 when his family moved to Miami, where he starred for Pembroke Pines Catholic. He was drafted in the 18th round by Milwaukee as a senior but chose the college route at Mississippi State, a traditional college power.

Cigntje will be eligible for the Major League draft next year following his junior season in Starkville.

The only Major-League pitcher in the modern era to throw with both arms was reliever Pat Venditte, who played for six teams between 2015 and 2020.

An ambidextrous pitcher must declare which arm he will throw with to start an at-bat and continue to throw with same arm for full at bat.