27-year old righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens will join the Orioles’ starting rotation this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.  He will be replacing lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who has recently been placed on the D.L.  Jurrjens has pitched in 8 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  Jurrjens has pitched in 126 games (125 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 53-37 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  Jurrjens was a solid major league starting pitcher not too long ago, so maybe the Orioles will catch some lightning in a bottle with him.

21-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Jonathan Schoop came into this season as the Orioles’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America.  He has played in 31 games in AAA-ball so far this year for the Orioles and he was 29 for 115 (.252 avg, .679 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Schoop has now played in 413 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 417 of 1,572 (.265 avg, .728 OPS) with 221 runs scored, 34 homers, 212 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.  The Orioles have a huge hole at 2B, so if Schoop starts hitting in AAA-ball, he could get a chance with them at some point in 2013.

36-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia is looking good in AAA-ball for the Orioles so far this year.  He has pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.  He has given up 31 hits and he has walked 2 batters while whiffing 21 in his first 33 2/3 innings so far this year.  Garcia pitched in 30 games (17 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 7-6 with a 5.20 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  Garcia has now pitched in 359 games (344 starts) in his first fourteen years in the majors and he is 152-101 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  Garcia could get back to the majors with the O’s in the near future if he keeps pitching well.

The Orioles have announced that 30-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Conor Jackson has decided to retire from baseball.  He played in 9 games in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 5 for 25 (.200 avg, .573 OPS) with 1 run scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs.  Jackson played in 658 games in his seven years in the majors and he was 591 of 2,184 (.271 avg, .757 OPS) with 291 runs scored, 52 homers, 295 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.  The Orioles should be o.k. moving forward without Jackson.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Gausman came into this season as the Orioles’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America.  He is clearly on the fast track to Baltimore.  Gausman has pitched in 2 games (both starts) so far this year in AA-ball and he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  Gausman has given up 10 hits and 1 walk in his first 10 innings this year while whiffing 13 batters.  Gausman has now pitched in 7 games (all starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 1-2 with a 3.96 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Gausman might get a shot to help the Orioles in September, just like Dylan Bundy did last year…..it he pitches well in the minors in 2013.

30-year old righty reliever/starter Daniel McCutchen has been suspended for 50 games due to testing positive for PEDs.  He has pitched in 1 game (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he is 0-0 with a 21.60 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP.  Last year McCutchen pitched some for the Pirates.  He has played in 108 games (15 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 8-11 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  This is going to make it hard for McCutchen to get back to the show at some point in 2013.

The Orioles have a quartet of rookie pitchers that could make their marks for them at some point in 2013.  Here’s a look at them:

Dylan Bundy:  20-year old righty starting pitcher Dylan Bundy comes into this season as the Orioles’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America.  Bundy pitched in 23 games (all starts) in A+AA-ball last year and he was 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.  He only gave up 67 hits and 28 walks while whiffing 119 batters in his first 103 2/3 innings in the minors last year….and those are eye popping numbers.  He even pitched in 2 games (0 starts) in September for the Orioles and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Bundy will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball, but he could be with the Orioles really quickly if he dominates there.

Steve Johnson:  25-year old righty starter/reliever Steve Johnson will likely be with the Orioles on opening day (likely in the bullpen).  He comes into this season as the Orioles’ #16 prospect according to Baseball America.  Johnson pitched in 19 games (14 starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles last year and he was 4-8 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  He also looked good in his first taste of the majors with the Orioles last year, working in 12 games (4 starts) in which he was 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  Johnson has now pitched in 165 games (151 starts) in his first eight years in the minors and he is 50-52 with 1 save, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

Tsuyoshi Wada:  32-year old lefty starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada comes into this season as the Orioles’ #21 prospect according to Baseball America.  Wada only pitched in 1 game (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Orioles last year and he was 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA and as 3.75 WHIP.  Wada is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, so he won’t be ready to go when the 2013 season begins.  Wada has pitched in 210 games in which he was 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

T.J. McFarland:  23-year old lefty starting pitcher T.J. McFarland came into this season as the Orioles’ #22 prospect according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Indians last year and he was 16-8 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.  McFarland has now pitched in 116 games (107 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 48-31 with 1 save, a 3.83 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  McFarland was a Rule 5 Pick over the winter and the Orioles like him, so they might find a way to try to keep him instead of giving him back to the Indians.

25-year old righty swinging 2B Ryan Adams has been suspended for 25 games for testing positive for an amphetamine. Adams played in 69 games in Rookie+A+AAA-ball for the Orioles last year and he was 55 of 244 (.225 avg, .665 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Adams played in 29 games for the O’s back in 2011 and he was 25 of 89 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. This isn’t much of a loss for the Orioles, as they are likely to cut ties with Adams this winter anyway.

The Orioles have designated 25-year old righty swinging infielder Ryan Adams for assignment. Adams played in 69 games in Rookie+A+AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 55 of 244 (.225 avg, .665 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He played in 29 games in 2011 for the Orioles in which he was 25 of 89 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. This isn’t much of a loss for the Orioles moving forward.

UPDATE: (9/14/2012) - The Orioles have outrighted Ryan Adams to AAA.

The Orioles have designated 28-year old righty reliever/starter Jason Berken for assignment. Berken pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he was 0-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 7.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 5-6 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Berken pitched in 106 games (24 starts) in his four years with the Orioles and he was 10-17 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. The Orioles won’t miss Berken at all moving forward.

UPDATE: (9/7/2012) - The Orioles have lost Jason Berken on waivers to the Chicago Cubs.