Jakob Junis


Jakob Benjamin Lee Junis is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball.

Career

Junis was born in Sterling, Illinois and attended Rock Falls High School in Rock Falls, Illinois. The Kansas City Royals selected Junis in the 29th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He had been committed to play college baseball at North Carolina State University, but he signed with the Royals instead of attending college.
Junis made his professional debut in 2012 with the Burlington Royals where he went 2–2 with a 4.15 ERA in seven games, pitched in 2013 with the Idaho Falls Chukars where he posted a 2–6 record and 7.39 ERA in 13 starts, and in 2014 with the Lexington Legends where he pitched to a 9–8 record and 4.30 ERA in 26 games. Junis pitched for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2015 where he compiled a combined 5–12 record and 3.78 ERA in 27 starts, and started 2016 with Northwest Arkansas. In August he was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers. In 27 combined started between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha he was 10–10 with a 4.05 ERA. The Royals added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Junis began 2017 with Omaha.

MLB

Junis made his MLB debut on April 12, 2017. After his debut, he was recalled and optioned a multitude 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, and in twenty games for Kansas City, he compiled a 9–3 record and 4.30 ERA.
Junis began 2018 in Kansas City's starting rotation. He finished the season with a 9–12 record and a 4.37 ERA in 30 starts.