A month has passed since we last visited the Orioles 40 man roster.  I will sum up the comings and goings during this time period.  If you want a quick primer on options, you will find it here.  If you have any further questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Transactions:

5/18/2013 – RHP Jair Jurrjens contract was selected from Norfolk, so he was added to the 40 man roster.  To make room, 2B Brian Roberts was transferred to the 60 day DL.

5/23/2013 – RHP Kevin Gausman’s contract was selected from the Bowie Baysox.  To make room, RHP Alex Burnett was designated for assignment.  The Cubs claimed Burnett and then designated him for assignment on June 1st.  As of this writing, it has not been determined if he will remain in the Cubs’ system.

There have been some minor moves that affect the 40 man roster with those being more about the use of options (e.g., Steve Johnson, Ryan Flaherty), but I chose to stick with the moves that change the composition of the 40 man roster.

Jair Jurrjens, RHP

Year Age Tm W L ERA GS IP ERA+ H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2007 21 DET 3 1 4.70 7 30.2 98 7.0 1.2 3.2 3.8
2008 22 ATL 13 10 3.68 31 188.1 113 9.0 0.5 3.3 6.6
2009 23 ATL 14 10 2.60 34 215.0 159 7.8 0.6 3.1 6.4
2010 24 ATL 7 6 4.64 20 116.1 84 9.3 1.0 3.2 6.7
2011 25 ATL 13 6 2.96 23 152.0 129 8.4 0.8 2.6 5.3
2012 26 ATL 3 4 6.89 10 48.1 58 13.4 1.5 3.4 3.5
2013 27 BAL 0 0 7.20 1 5.0 63 10.8 1.8 1.8 9.0
7 Yrs 53 37 3.64 126 755.2 111 8.8 0.8 3.1 6.0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/2/2013.

One would imagine that a decent start from Jurrjens would have kept him afloat in Baltimore and not resulted in him being immediately sent to the minors.  He was known not to be a happy camper whenever the Braves sent him down to throw some games and it was intimated that he was none too pleased this time either.  Jurrjens did have a clause in his contract where he could leave the organization if he did not pitch in the Majors.  However, with the one start, the clause was fulfilled and the Orioles could freely send him to the minors.

The hope with Jurrjens is that as he finds his health that he will be able to strengthen his leg and regain his velocity.  The Jurrjens the team saw was one that was throwing in the high 80s as opposed to the low 90s when he was most dominant with the Braves.  Additionally, Jurrjens essentially was a fastball/changeup pitcher in his one game this year as he was tentative to use his slider (which did not look good when he actually threw it).  As one would expect, he was lit up when the ball was hit with six extra base hits out of six total hits.  Feast or famine in those five innings.

Perhaps with more time in the minors and a good attitude toward building back his value, the Orioles will have a mid to back rotation arm.

Kevin Gausman, RHP

Minors

Year Tm Lev W L ERA GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2012 Aberdeen A- 0 0 0.00 2 6.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 7.5
2012 Frederick A+ 0 1 6.00 3 9.0 10.0 3.0 1.0 8.0 8.00
2013 Bowie AA 2 4 3.11 8 46.1 8.5 0.6 1.0 9.5 9.80
2 Seasons 2 5 3.23 13 61.1 8.1 0.9 0.9 9.1 10.33
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/2/2013.

Majors

Year Age Tm W L ERA GS IP ERA+ H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2013 22 BAL 0 2 11.00 2 9.0 40 15.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 1.67
1 Yr 0 2 11.00 2 9.0 40 15.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 1.67
162 Game Avg. 0 34 11.00 34 153 40 15.0 4.0 3.0 5.0 1.67
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/2/2013.

There have been a number of articles written on Gausman here.

My view in brief would be that he should struggle quite a bit up here because he is using plus to plus-plus fastball and change.  His slider is still a work in progress.  He does not yet have great command of those pitches on a consistent basis and so he winds up interchanging between brilliant pitching and getting hit hard.  Gausman shows a great deal of promise and is the best arm in the ceiling.  He arguably has the highest ceiling in the system going head-to-head with Dylan Bundy.

I would not be surprised to see him go back to Norfolk when Wei-Yin Chen becomes healthy.

Orioles current 40 man roster:

Orioles 40 man 06022013

Jon Shepherd
Jon Shepherd

Jon Shepherd founded the Baltimore Orioles blog Camden Depot in 2007. In addition to Baltimore Orioles analysis, the blog also focuses on qualitative and quantitative approaches to assessing baseball in general as well as providing mainstream reviews and commentary on substances alleged to performance enhancing. Dr. Shepherd’s writing has been featured on ESPN, and his blog has been part of the ESPN Sweetspot Network since May 2011. He has made radio and podcast appearances for Orioles’ centered programs.

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