Jair Jurrjens Hits the Disabled List

The Atlanta Braves have placed All-Star pitcher Jair Jurrjens on the 15 day disabled list.  Jurrjens is again dealing with knee problems as he’s currently sidelined by a strain.

Jurrjens was forced to miss the end of the 2010 season after tearing his meniscus in his right knee and ultimately was forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage.

On the year, Jurrjens has been the best starter of one of the league’s top staffs.  The 25 year old is 12-4 with an ERA of 2.63 and 1.14 WHIP over his 20 starts.

Jurrjens entered the All-Star break as one of the favorites in the NL Cy Young race, with his 1.87 ERA.  Over 16 first half starts, Jurrjens had only allowed 3 or more runs twice while holding teams to a single run or fewer on 9 occasions.

But the second half hasn’t been as kind to the right hander.  Jurrjens has been unable to reproduce his early success, surrendering 16 runs over his last 4 games spanning 23 innings.

To replace Jurrjens in their rotation, Atlanta has recalled Mike Minor from Triple-A.  Minor has already started 6 games for the Braves this season.  While he’s struggled a bit at the Major League level, Minor’s put up solid numbers in Triple-A where he’s maintained an ERA of 3.13 while averaging nearly a strike out per inning.

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