Despite having a population of just over 150,000 people, the tiny island of Curaçao is well known to Atlanta Braves fans. From Hall of Famer Andruw Jones to current core players in Ozzie Albies and Jurickson Profar, the Braves have had far and away the most connection to the island than any other big league team.
Although Jones and Albies are certainly the first players to come to mind, there was a time where another Curaçao native, Jair Jurrjens, looked like he would be come immortal in Braves history.
Jair Jurrjens was better than you remember...until he wasn't
In the same offseason that the Braves let the greatest Curaçaon baseball player walk in free agency, they also acquired a young 21-year-old prospect Curaçao native from the Detroit Tigers named Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens had debuted for the Tigers in 2007, pitching an underwhelming 30.2 innings with a 4.70 ERA.
Jurrjens made the Opening Day roster with the Braves, partially thanks to injuries to John Smoltz and Chuck James, and the 22-year-old righty never looked back. In his first full season, Jurrjens threw 188.1 innings with a 3.68 ERA and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting,
In his second season with the Braves, Jurrjens got even better, finishing the season with a 2.60 ERA in 215 innings. His 2.60 ERA was the fifth-lowest in the majors that year, but did not receive a single Cy Young vote.
He had an injury riddled 2010, only making 20 starts and finishing with a 4.64 ERA, but rebounded in 2011, making his first and only All-Star team. He won NL Pitcher of the Month in May, but again struggled with injuries, missing the beginning of the season, in August, and then again in September due to a knee injury.
Jurrjens looked to bounce back in 2012, but was optioned to the minors in late April after starting the year with a 9.37 ERA. He'd return in June, but continued to struggle. He made his final appearance for the Braves in late July before going on the DL and then being optioned to Gwinnett.
Atlanta non-tendered Jurrjens that offseason, and the righty would make cameos for the Orioles and the Rockies in 2013 and 2014, finding little success in his four outings. Even though Jurrjens has continued to play professionally as recently as 2025, he didn't throw a single major league inning after his age-28 season. His final season with an MLB affiliated team came in 2017, when he was unfortunately suspended for PEDs.
There was no doubt the Braves once believed him to be their ace of the future. After all, from 2008 until 2011, Jurrjens had two standout seasons in 2009 and 2011. Even with his shocking decline, Jurrjens is no doubt remembered in Curaçao as one of the many Braves who saw success at the big league level.