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 92.0 mph, against 84.0 off his slider.
150 and 160 of them thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider moves 16.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
160 thrown, averaging 81.8 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Junis throws a fastball 52.2% of the time, against 29.8% when he is ahead.
203 pitches behind in the count, 258 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.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junis throws the changeup 32.9% of the time against left-handers and 6.7% against right-handers.
404 pitches to right-handers, 432 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Junis releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
845 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 pitches move in ways that fit together
Junis works with 5 pitches: Sweeper, Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider, and a little else. The sweeper is 23.1% of everything he throws.
836 classified 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 2.25 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
845 located pitches in 2026.
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.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Junis's 4-seam fastball carries 12.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
164 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
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.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junis goes to the sweeper: 28.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.2% the rest of the time.
231 two-strike 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.
796 tracked pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junis puts 59.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43.3% when he is ahead.
204 located pitches behind, 261 ahead.
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.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junis's 4-seam fastball averages 92.4 mph, and has touched 94.8.
164 thrown, 19.6% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junis throws a strike on the first pitch 63.4% of the time.
232 plate appearances started in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.4% of Junis's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
181 of 845 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider spins at 2,465 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
160 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
10.5 mph separates Junis's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.4 against 81.8.
164 and 160 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 92.0 mph, against 84.0 off his slider.
150 and 160 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junis throws the changeup 32.9% of the time against left-handers and 6.7% against right-handers.
404 pitches to right-handers, 432 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Junis works with 5 pitches: Sweeper, Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider, and a little else. The sweeper is 23.1% of everything he throws.
836 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junis's 4-seam fastball averages 92.4 mph, and has touched 94.8.
164 thrown, 19.6% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junis's slider spins at 2,465 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
160 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.5 mph separates Junis's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.4 against 81.8.
164 and 160 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 16.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
160 thrown, averaging 81.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Junis's 4-seam fastball carries 12.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
164 thrown, averaging 92.4 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 52.2% of the time, against 29.8% when he is ahead.
203 pitches behind in the count, 258 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junis goes to the sweeper: 28.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.2% the rest of the time.
231 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junis puts 59.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43.3% when he is ahead.
204 located pitches behind, 261 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junis throws a strike on the first pitch 63.4% of the time.
232 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 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
845 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.
796 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 Pitch Data.
Take me there
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 2.25 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
845 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.4% of Junis's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
181 of 845 located pitches.
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.
Rangers