Jair Francoise Jurrjens ( ; born January 29, 1986) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves (with whom he was an All Star in 2011), Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. He pitched for Team Netherlands in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Childhood
Jurrjens was named after the Biblical judge Jair by his mother Esther. She and Jurrjens' father, Carl, have two other children, Carl Jr. and Charlotte.
In 2002, Jurrjens' Curaçao Senior League team won the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine.
Jurrjens speaks English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamentu.
Professional career
Detroit Tigers
Jurrjens was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 2003. In seven games during his 2003 campaign with the GCL Tigers, Jurrjens accumulated a 2–1 record with 20 strikeouts and just three walks.
However, Jurrjens really broke out during his 2005 season with the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Tigers' single-A affiliate. In 26 games started, Jurrjens went 12–6 with 108 strikeouts and 36 walks. He was a mid-season Midwest League All Star with West Michigan.
He continued to improve during the 2006 season, beginning with a 5–0, 2.08 ERA start with the Lakeland Tigers that resulted in him being named to the Florida State League mid-season All Star team. Jurrjens was promoted to the Erie SeaWolves, the Tigers' Double-A affiliate. In 12 games with the SeaWolves, Jurrjens went 4–3 with a 3.36 ERA.
Jurrjens began the 2007 season pitching for the SeaWolves. On August 6, he was named Pitcher of the Week. On August 15, the Tigers purchased Jurrjens' contract from the SeaWolves, adding him to their 40-man roster. Jurrjens made his major league debut on August 15, 2007, as a starting pitcher against the Cleveland Indians, making him the first pitcher from Curaçao to reach the major leagues. In that game, he gave up four earned runs in seven innings, taking the loss. He recorded his first major league win in his next start, also against the Indians, allowing only one run on one hit in innings pitched.
2006 World Baseball Classic
Jurrjens joined fellow Curaçao native Andruw Jones on the Netherlands national baseball team for the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Jurrjens pitched one inning against Puerto Rico in the WBC, giving up three runs and earning him a loss.
Atlanta Braves
On October 29, 2007, Jurrjens and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez were traded to the Atlanta Braves for shortstop Édgar Rentería. Jurrjens was listed by Baseball America as the Braves' 3rd-best prospect entering the 2008 season.
By the end of April 2008, Jurrjens was 3–2 with a 3.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Jurrjens was asked prior to the game on April 20 about how he felt facing his fellow countryman Andruw Jones. Jurrjens said, "It's going to be fun to face him", then said "It's going to be even more fun to strike him out." Jurrjens then went on to strike Jones out all three times he faced him.
Jurrjens pitched well throughout the first half of the 2008 season, compiling a 9–4 record with an impressive 3.00 ERA prior to the All-Star Break. On July 9, 2008, Jurrjens was named National League Rookie of the Month for the month of June. Jurrjens appeared to tire during the second half of the season, going 4–6 with a subpar 4.66 ERA after the All-Star Break. Overall, Jurrjens finished his rookie season with a record of 13–10 and a 3.68 ERA in 188 innings.
Jurrjens finished third in voting for the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year award. Jurrjens lost the award to Geovany Soto with Joey Votto finishing second.
Despite his impressive rookie season, some remained skeptical of Jurrjens' future prospects as a pitcher in the major leagues. As a result, Jurrjens went into the 2009 season looking to avoid a "sophomore slump."