One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .406 expected average against them, against .225 on his breaking balls.
91 of his fastballs thrown.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Junis lives in the strike zone: 51.8% of his pitches are in it, 97th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 97th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 16th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Junis's sinker leaves the bat at 92.2 mph, against 82.5 off his slider.
52 and 97 of them thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider moves 16.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 81.6 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Junis throws a fastball 50% of the time, against 31.2% when he is ahead.
52 pitches behind in the count, 80 ahead.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Junis averages 86.5 mph across his arsenal, 13th percentile in the league.
251 pitches in 2026. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 467th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Junis puts 48.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 55% of his pitches to left-handers.
122 pitches to right-handed hitters, 129 to left-handed hitters.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junis goes to the slider: 49.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 36.7% the rest of the time.
65 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junis throws the changeup 33.3% of the time against left-handers and 10.3% against right-handers.
116 pitches to right-handers, 126 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Junis releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 36 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
251 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Junis's stuff spins at 2,076 rpm, 15th percentile in the league.
251 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junis's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 93.5.
52 thrown, 21.5% of his pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Junis is weak: 85.6 mph off the bat on average, 84th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Junis lands 58.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.7% of his offspeed pitches.
91 of his fastballs, 54 of his offspeed pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Junis works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
251 located pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junis puts 66% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 45.8% when he is ahead.
53 located pitches behind, 83 ahead.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Junis lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
251 located pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Junis releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
202 tracked pitches in 2026.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Junis gives up is hit hard, 76th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 128th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junis throws a strike on the first pitch 65.3% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Junis works with 4 pitches: Slider, Changeup, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 40.1% of everything he throws.
242 classified pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.3% of Junis's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
56 of 251 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider spins at 2,456 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Junis projects a .308 average, 67th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 180th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.9 mph separates Junis's sinker from his slider, 91.4 against 81.6.
52 and 97 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .406 expected average against them, against .225 on his breaking balls.
91 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Junis lands 58.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.7% of his offspeed pitches.
91 of his fastballs, 54 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Junis lives in the strike zone: 51.8% of his pitches are in it, 97th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 97th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 16th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Junis's sinker leaves the bat at 92.2 mph, against 82.5 off his slider.
52 and 97 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junis throws the changeup 33.3% of the time against left-handers and 10.3% against right-handers.
116 pitches to right-handers, 126 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junis's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 93.5.
52 thrown, 21.5% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Junis works with 4 pitches: Slider, Changeup, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 40.1% of everything he throws.
242 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider spins at 2,456 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.9 mph separates Junis's sinker from his slider, 91.4 against 81.6.
52 and 97 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider moves 16.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 81.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Junis throws a fastball 50% of the time, against 31.2% when he is ahead.
52 pitches behind in the count, 80 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junis goes to the slider: 49.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 36.7% the rest of the time.
65 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junis puts 66% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 45.8% when he is ahead.
53 located pitches behind, 83 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junis throws a strike on the first pitch 65.3% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Junis averages 86.5 mph across his arsenal, 13th percentile in the league.
251 pitches in 2026. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 467th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Junis puts 48.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 55% of his pitches to left-handers.
122 pitches to right-handed hitters, 129 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Junis releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 36 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
251 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Junis releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
202 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Junis's stuff spins at 2,076 rpm, 15th percentile in the league.
251 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Junis is weak: 85.6 mph off the bat on average, 84th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Junis gives up is hit hard, 76th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 128th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Junis projects a .308 average, 67th percentile.
251 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 180th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Junis works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
251 located pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Junis lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
251 located pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.3% of Junis's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
56 of 251 located pitches.
Rangers