Jakob Junis

31-Year-Old PitcherRP

San Francisco Giants

2023 Stats

W-L

4-3

ERA

3.93

WHIP

1.30

Rest-of-Season Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

Unlock Our Projections

2023 Fantasy Outlook

Junis has spent a career trying to find something to go along with his slider and his command of the strikezone, but has yet to find anything else. Kansas City was not exactly known for great pitching development in his time there, so the move to San Franciso was interesting because of their track record of turning castaways into treasure. The Giants had Junis really lean into the slider and took away his very hittable four-seamer to see what would work. The problem became his sinker was even more hittable than his four-seamer, and the changeup they gave him lacks any redeeming characteristics. Junis made 17 starts, but such a limited repertoire in both depth and effectiveness is playing with fire depending on the matchups because he historically has issues with lefties. The best outcome we can hope for here is a full-time conversion to reliever and him going Matt Wisler with the slider and throwing it 90% of the time. Until that happens, he is not worth rostering. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#592

ADP

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'3"

Weight 220

DOB 9/16/1992

Born Sterling, IL

College None

Drafted 29th Rd 2011 KC

Works four innings in bulk relief

PSan Francisco Giants

September 16, 2023

Junis allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk while striking out five batters over four innings in bulk relief against the Rockies in Game 2 of a doubleheader Saturday.

ANALYSIS
Scott Alexander started for San Francisco and got two outs before Junis entered in the first frame with a runner on second base. Junis surrendered a single to allow the inherited runner to score, and he yielded two runs of his own in the third inning before departing with two outs in the fifth. The right-hander has bounced between opening and pitching in bulk relief lately, tossing more than one frame in each of his past five outings. However, he hasn't pitched more than four innings in any appearance this season, and he's recorded just one decision -- a win -- over his past 22 games despite pitching to a solid 3.47 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 51:5 K:BB over 49.1 frames during that span.

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Pitching Stats

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2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown

Average Pitch Count

Last 10 Games

Last 5 Games

How many pitches does Jakob Junis generally throw?

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

What part of the game does Jakob Junis generally pitch?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

% Games Reaching Innings Threshold

% Games By Number of Innings Pitched

Left/Right Pitching Splits

Since 2021

-13%

BAA vs RHP

2023

-2%

BAA vs LHP

2022

-23%

BAA vs RHP

2021

-11%

BAA vs RHP

	BAA	Batters	K	BB	H	2B	3B	HR
Since 2021vs Left	.293	445	92	30	119	32	3	15
Since 2021vs Right	.254	563	142	28	133	30	1	17
2023vs Left	.266	123	27	11	29	10	1	4
2023vs Right	.271	239	68	10	60	12	0	8
2022vs Left	.307	228	44	11	65	17	2	7
2022vs Right	.235	250	54	14	55	16	1	6
2021vs Left	.294	94	21	8	25	5	0	4
2021vs Right	.261	74	20	4	18	2	0	3
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Pitching Splits

Since 2021

-20%

ERA on Road

2023

-26%

ERA on Road

2022

-9%

ERA at Home

2021

-60%

ERA on Road

	ERA	WHIP	IP	W	L	SV	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Since 2021Home	4.88	1.35	118.0	4	6	0	9.5	2.1	1.4
Since 2021Away	3.89	1.28	118.0	7	8	1	8.4	2.3	1.0
2023Home	4.62	1.32	37.0	0	1	0	11.4	2.2	1.2
2023Away	3.40	1.28	47.2	4	2	1	9.1	2.3	1.3
2022Home	4.21	1.32	57.2	2	3	0	8.4	2.0	1.2
2022Away	4.64	1.27	54.1	3	4	0	7.3	2.0	0.8
2021Home	6.94	1.46	23.1	2	2	0	8.9	2.3	2.3
2021Away	2.81	1.31	16.0	0	2	0	10.1	3.4	0.6
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Jakob Junis compare to other relievers?

This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

K/BB

4.52

K/9

10.1

BB/9

2.2

HR/9

1.3

Fastball

93.8 mph

ERA

3.93

WHIP

1.30

BABIP

.349

GB/FB

1.33

Left On Base

73.0%

Exit Velocity

81.5 mph

Barrels/BBE

5.6%

Spin Rate

2268 rpm

Balls Hit 95+ MPH

23.0%

Swinging Strike

11.6%

Advanced Pitching Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Today's Lineup

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2021

2020

2019

2018

The Royals have a type of pitcher they like, as evidenced by Brad Keller and Junis. Throw fastballs and sliders, and we'll try to see what happens. That has been the case with Junis, and the slider is easily his best pitch. He leveraged it successfully in both 2018 and 2019, throwing it with a high degree of success to hide his rather hittable fastball. Do whatever you will with the small sample of 2020, but the fact remains Junis was getting strikeouts despite his limitations in other seasons. The main issue is his repertoire leaves him susceptible to lefties who have little trouble hitting him, so he attempts to pitch around them and get to the next righty in the lineup. He can contribute strikeouts to your bottom line, but they'll come at the expense of your ratios. He does not walk many, but the non-slider offerings are too hittable.

After being a league average pitcher for a couple of seasons, Junis fell back last year, exhibiting poorer control while allowing harder contact. The result was a bloated 1.43 WHIP along with a lofty 5.43 ERA. The damage could have been worse, except Junis did a slightly better job keeping the ball in the yard despite the reduced-drag ball. Junis features a 92-mph fastball, slider, sinker and change. His slider is his most effective pitch as he throws it 10-mph slower than his heater, whereas his sinker is just a tick below 92 and his changeup is a scant seven-mph slower. Junis' swinging-strike rate has increased the last two seasons, but the overall leap from 8.9% to 9.8% isn't enough to significantly improve his strikeout rate. Junis could revert to 2017-2018 levels, and a league average hurler can be an asset, especially in formats facilitating streaming. However, the days of hoping for more are over.

There has been a push to have pitchers throw fewer fastballs and use their secondary pitches more frequently. It goes against the mantra of getting ahead early with fastballs and putting guys away with non-strikes, but if there were ever a pitcher for this theory, it is Junis. He has a gorgeous slider that looks like a confused Florida tourist as it tries to find the exit for Disney World. It stops, looks around and changes directions without a turn signal. The problem for Junis is that it is his only good pitch, as the rest of his stuff grades out as below league average. This is why he gave up 32 homers in 30 starts while pitching in a division that had just one team with a winning record. The slider is so good that his splits are not as bad as one would assume them to be, but the home runs are a problem that offsets what he brings to the table with a 16.0 K-BB%.

With Junis, the sum is greater than the parts. He doesn't throw especially hard, averaging just over 91 mph with his fastball. His slider has good sweeping movement, but it does not result in a whole lot of swings out of the zone (8.9 percent swinging-strike rate) or groundballs (40.1 percent groundball rate). However, by commanding those two pitches and mixing in occasional curveballs and changeups, Junis found a good amount of success in his debut with the Royals, especially in the second half (3.55 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 52:9 K:BB). It's impossible to project him for a 3.5 percent walk rate -- his post-ASG mark -- over the course of a full season, but Junis has a strong track record of control in the minor leagues, and workload is not a big concern after he totaled 169.1 innings between the majors and Triple-A last season. He should have a rotation spot out of camp, and the home park is a big plus in his favor.

More Fantasy News

Covers most innings Tuesday

PSan Francisco Giants

September 6, 2023

Junis allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 2.2 innings during Tuesday's 11-8 loss to the Cubs. He did not factor in the decision.