Jurrjens places third in NL ROY race

[HMFFL]

Jair Jurrjens immediately impressed the Braves in Spring Training with his competitive nature and advanced maturity. By the end of the season, the baseball world came to regard him as one of the game's top young pitchers.

Jurrjens finished third in balloting for this year's National League Rookie of the Year Award. Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was announced the winner on Monday afternoon and Reds first baseman Joey Votto finished second.

Jurrjens garnered six second-place votes and 16 third-place votes. Soto received 31 of the 32 first-place votes.

Among all Major League rookie pitchers, Jurrjens ranked first in ERA (3.68) and wins (13), tying Tigers right-hander Armando Galarraga. Jurrjens made 31 starts, and the 188 1/3 innings he completed were 40 more than he'd totaled during any previous professional season.

"It's just an honor to get attention for this award," Jurrjens said. "I'm not happy about all the wins I got. I'm just happy that I went a whole season without injuries. I was happy about being healthy and being able to give my team a chance to win whenever I went out there."

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