Jakob Junis

Jakob Junis

30-Year-Old PitcherRP
San Francisco Giants
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
$Signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Giants in January of 2023.
Picks up win as primary pitcher
PSan Francisco Giants
May 25, 2023
Junis (3-2) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four over 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday over the Brewers.
ANALYSIS
Six pitchers combined for the shutout, and Junis led the way by getting seven outs. He hasn't given up a run over his last 6.1 innings, posting a 10:2 K:BB with four hits allowed in that span. The right-hander has a 4.13 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 33:14 K:BB over 28.1 innings through 14 relief appearances this season. The Giants continue to use Junis in a swingman role -- he and Sean Manaea, who had a hold with 1.1 scoreless innings Thursday, are options to serve as primary pitchers whenever manager Gabe Kapler opts for a bullpen day.
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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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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
35
Last 10 Games
31
Last 5 Games
29
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
 
 
-12%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-30%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-23%
BAA vs RHP
2021
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .294 366 75 27 98 25 2 13
Since 2021vs Right .258 425 103 25 101 24 1 13
2023vs Left .222 44 10 8 8 3 0 2
2023vs Right .315 101 29 7 28 6 0 4
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
 
 
-2%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-78%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-9%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-60%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 4.45 1.34 95.0 4 5 0 9.0 2.4 1.4
Since 2021Away 4.55 1.39 89.0 6 8 0 8.4 2.7 1.1
2023Home 1.29 1.21 14.0 0 0 0 11.6 3.9 0.6
2023Away 5.79 1.82 18.2 3 2 0 10.1 4.3 2.4
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
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.60
 
K/9
10.7
 
BB/9
4.1
 
HR/9
1.7
 
Fastball
93.9 mph
 
ERA
3.86
 
WHIP
1.56
 
BABIP
.361
 
GB/FB
1.37
 
Left On Base
84.5%
 
Exit Velocity
80.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.5%
 
Spin Rate
2324 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
24.5%
 
Swinging Strike
10.6%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jakob Junis See More
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108 days ago
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259 days ago
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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
Takes loss Friday
PSan Francisco Giants
May 13, 2023
Junis (2-2) allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 1.2 innings Friday versus the Diamondbacks, taking the loss.
ANALYSIS
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Could fill bulk-relief role Tuesday
PSan Francisco Giants
April 25, 2023
Junis is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opener John Brebbia in Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss in relief outing
PSan Francisco Giants
April 18, 2023
Junis (2-1) allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out one over 2.2 innings, taking the loss Tuesday versus the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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Snares second win
PSan Francisco Giants
April 7, 2023
Junis (2-0) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four over four scoreless innings Thursday to earn the win over the White Sox.
ANALYSIS
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Earns win Saturday
PSan Francisco Giants
April 1, 2023
Junis (1-0) allowed a run on three hits and no walks while striking out two over 2.1 innings to earn the win Saturday versus the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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