Jakob Benjamin Lee Junis (born September 16, 1992) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 29th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2017.

Amateur career

Junis attended

Rock Falls High School Rock Falls Township High School, better known as Rock Falls High School and its initialism RFHS, is a four-year public high school located on the left bank of the Rock_River_(Mississippi_River_tributary), Rock River in Rock Falls, Illinois. Three a ...

Rock Falls, Illinois Rock Falls is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The recorded population was 8,606 at the 2020 census, down 7.12% from 9,266 in 2010. The city is located on the Rock River, directly opposite its twin city of Sterling. Geog ...

, and graduated in 2011. There, he earned all-state honors in both baseball and basketball. As a senior, in basketball he averaged 19 points a game. In baseball he threw an 88-92 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and had a 1.10

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

and 93 strikeouts as a pitcher, while batting .485 with 54 RBIs. The Kansas City Royals selected Junis in the 29th round of the

. He had committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at North Carolina State University as an infielder and a pitcher, and though he was rated as a fourth round pick he fell to the 29th round because of his scholarship to North Carolina State. But he signed with the Royals for a $675,000 signing bonus instead of attending college.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Junis made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington I ...

with whom he went 2–2 with a 4.15 ERA in seven games (six starts). He pitched in 2013 with the

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca ...

, posted a 2–6 record and 7.39 ERA in 13 starts, and was 8th in the Pioneer League with 55 strikeouts. In 2014 he played with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends ha ...

, and had a 9–8 record and 4.30 ERA with 10 hit batsmen (5th in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

) and a WHIP of 1.28 (10th in the league) in 26 games (22 starts). Junis pitched for the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

(with whom he was 2nd in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

with 123 strikeouts, and third in WHIP (1.12)) and

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, whic ...

in 2015, where he compiled a combined 5–12 record and 3.78 ERA in 27 starts. He started 2016 with Northwest Arkansas, for whom he was 9-7 with a 3.25 ERA (3rd in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

) and 117 strikeouts (6th in the league) in 21 starts, was 4th in the league in WHIP (1.15), and was a Texas League Mid-Season All Star and Post-Season All Star. In August he was promoted to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at We ...

, with whom he had six starts. In 27 combined starts between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha he was 10–10 with a 4.05 ERA, and 143 strikeouts and 34 walks in 149 innings, as he generally threw a fastball in the low-90s and occasionally slightly higher, a

change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and a curveball. He was named an MiLB.com Organization All Star. The Royals added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Junis made his MLB debut on April 12, 2017. After his debut, he was recalled and optioned a number of times before he was called up to Kansas City for the remainder of the season on August 14. In 12 starts for Omaha he was 3–5 with a 2.92 ERA, in 20 games (16 starts). For Kansas City, he compiled a 9–3 record and 4.30 ERA, as his 9 hit batsmen were 10th-most in the league. Junis began 2018 in Kansas City's starting rotation. He finished the season with a 9–12 record, a complete game, and a 4.37 ERA in 30 starts, and was 3rd in the AL in hit batsmen (15; a team record), 8th in walks per 9 innings (2.186), and 10th in strikeouts/walk (3.814) and

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es (9). In 2019 for the Royals, Junis pitched to a 5.24 ERA with a 8.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings across 31 starts, and was 6th in the AL with 11 hit batsmen. He became the first pitcher in the major leagues to win at least nine games in each of his first three seasons since

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Eagles in NPB. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be s ...

(2014–16); the last pitcher younger than Junis to do that was

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...

(2013–15). With the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Junis appeared in eight games (six starts). He compiled an 0-2 record with a 6.39 ERA and 6 walks and 19 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched. He was on the injured list twice. Junis made 16 appearances (six starts) for the Royals in 2021, posting a 5.26 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 39.1 innings of work, and was on the injured list twice. His salary was $1.7 million. On November 5, 2021, Junis was outrighted off of the 40-man roster, but rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency.

San Francisco Giants

On March 14, 2022, Junis signed a one-year $1.75 million deal with the

. In 2022 with the Giants he was 5-7 with a 4.42 ERA in 112 innings, as in 23 games (17 starts) he walked 25 batters and had 98 strikeouts. In 15.1 innings in the minor leagues, he pitched 11.1 innings, giving up 11 earned runs.

Personal

Junis and his wife, Brianne, have three children together. They reside in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junis, Jakob 1992 births Living people People from Rock Falls, Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Kansas City Royals players San Francisco Giants players Burlington Royals players Idaho Falls Chukars players Lexington Legends players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Sacramento River Cats players