Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Andruw Jones is a Brave no more, but Curacao youths needn't replace their Atlanta gear with Dodger blue. Not if Jair Jurrjens is as good as the Braves think he'll be.

The 22-year-old rookie from Curacao with the power arm and playful personality is a top candidate for a spot in Atlanta's starting rotation. That's assuming he can put aside his awe and not worry about trying to impress the most avid Braves fan he knows — his father.

"It's an honor to be one of the five [starters], and there's a lot of pressure," said Jurrjens, acquired from Detroit in the Oct. 29 trade for shortstop Edgar Renteria. "There's future Hall of Famers in this rotation. And it's the favorite team of my dad, so I'm trying to impress him even more."

His first name is pronounced Ji-EER, and he's scheduled to make his Braves spring debut Friday with a start against — wouldn't you know — the Los Angeles Dodgers. He could face fellow Curacao native Jones.

Regardless, Jurrjens will be plenty revved up for his first start for the team his father, Carl Jurrjens, taught him to appreciate from an early age. It was before Jones won the first of his 10 Gold Gloves for the Braves and became a favorite son of the Carribbean island of Curacao.

"I liked the Braves before Andruw was here," Jair said. "Since I was about 7. I liked [Terry] Pendleton, Jeff Blauser, David Justice, all those guys."

The elder Jurrjens loved the Braves since listening to Hank Aaron's teams on the radio. When TBS started broadcasting games on its superstation, Jurr- jens watched them in Curacao.

Jurrjens said all of it with a smile, and it's clear he has the self-assurance to poke fun at himself.

He went 3-1 with a 4.70 ERA in seven late-season starts for Detroit after being called up from Class AA. He allowed one earned run in five or more innings in each of his wins, against Texas, Cleveland and at Minnesota. Right-handed hitters were 8-for-48 (.167) with one walk against him.

"I don't really like to sound cocky or anything," Jurrjens said. "I'm just trying to be one of the team, do my thing to win the job. I don't have it already. I still need to ... show them, to help them make up their mind."

The Braves believe he'll develop into a quality top-half-of-rotation starter, but for now he's competing for the fifth spot. There is only one job available as long as Mike Hampton stays healthy.

Jurrjens faces competition from rookie left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and others, but the pressure doesn't figure to rattle the youngster.

"You're always going to feel some butterflies," he said. "If not, you're not human. The thing that helped me was [last season's stint with Detroit]. That's pressure they put me in, in a playoff race, trying to help the team win — and I think I did my job."

Jurrjens was 16-8 with a 2.91 ERA in 43 minor-league starts over the past two seasons, totaling 206 strikeouts with 62 walks in 2531/3 innings.

"Great competitor," Braves general manager Frank Wren said of reports he got from Braves scouts before pulling the trigger on the Renteria trade. "Good command for a young kid."

Jurrjens' control puts him ahead of a lot of power pitchers his age. He's got a good mid-90 mph fastball that he complements with a sinker, slider and change-up.

"For a young kid with that kind of arm, command is usually the last thing to come," Wren said. "He still needs to work on his pitches, but he's got a good mix, quality stuff."