One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Junk's 4-seam fastball carries 18.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
698 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Junk lives in the strike zone: 47.9% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 54th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Junk's sweeper moves 15.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
285 thrown, averaging 80.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Junk's changeup leaves the bat at 90.8 mph, against 85.9 off his sweeper.
353 and 285 of them thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Junk lands 54.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.3% of his offspeed pitches.
265 of his fastballs, 156 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Junk's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 94.1 against 80.1.
698 and 285 of them respectively.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junk puts 64.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.9% when he is ahead.
463 located pitches behind, 595 ahead.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Junk averages 87.9 mph across his arsenal, 24th percentile in the league.
776 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 407th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Junk lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.24 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1981 located pitches in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Junk puts 45.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
273 pitches to right-handed hitters, 503 to left-handed hitters.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junk throws the sweeper 26.3% of the time against right-handers and 7.7% against left-handers.
715 pitches to right-handers, 1266 to left-handers.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .343 expected average against them, against .292 on his breaking balls.
156 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Junk throws a fastball 44.5% of the time, against 36% when he is ahead.
463 pitches behind in the count, 595 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Junk works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sweeper, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.2% of everything he throws.
1981 classified pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Junk projects a .305 average, 70th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 162nd in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junk goes to the 4-seam fastball: 38.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.7% the rest of the time.
612 two-strike pitches in 2026.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Junk's stuff spins at 2,168 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
776 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 371st in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Junk throws 50% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.4% with the bases empty.
150 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 626 with the bases empty.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Junk releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1981 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junk's curveball spins at 2,513 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
181 thrown in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junk throws a strike on the first pitch 63.2% of the time.
524 plate appearances started in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.5% of Junk's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
426 of 1981 located pitches.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.4% of the contact Junk gives up is hit hard, 36th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 342nd in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junk's 4-seam fastball averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 97.0.
698 thrown, 35.2% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Junk has thrown 76 sinkers this season, 3.8% of his pitches, at 93.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1981 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Junk's 4-seam fastball carries 18.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
698 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Junk's sweeper moves 15.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
285 thrown, averaging 80.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Junk lives in the strike zone: 47.9% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 54th 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 Junk's changeup leaves the bat at 90.8 mph, against 85.9 off his sweeper.
353 and 285 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Junk's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 94.1 against 80.1.
698 and 285 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Junk throws the sweeper 26.3% of the time against right-handers and 7.7% against left-handers.
715 pitches to right-handers, 1266 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Junk works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sweeper, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.2% of everything he throws.
1981 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Junk's curveball spins at 2,513 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
181 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Junk's 4-seam fastball averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 97.0.
698 thrown, 35.2% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Junk has thrown 76 sinkers this season, 3.8% of his pitches, at 93.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1981 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Junk lands 54.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.3% of his offspeed pitches.
265 of his fastballs, 156 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .343 expected average against them, against .292 on his breaking balls.
156 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Junk puts 64.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.9% when he is ahead.
463 located pitches behind, 595 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Junk throws a fastball 44.5% of the time, against 36% when he is ahead.
463 pitches behind in the count, 595 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Junk goes to the 4-seam fastball: 38.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.7% the rest of the time.
612 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Junk throws a strike on the first pitch 63.2% of the time.
524 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
Junk averages 87.9 mph across his arsenal, 24th percentile in the league.
776 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 407th 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
Junk lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.24 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1981 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.5% of Junk's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
426 of 1981 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Junk puts 45.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
273 pitches to right-handed hitters, 503 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Junk projects a .305 average, 70th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 162nd in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.4% of the contact Junk gives up is hit hard, 36th percentile.
776 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 342nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Junk's stuff spins at 2,168 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
776 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 371st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Junk throws 50% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.4% with the bases empty.
150 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 626 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Junk releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1981 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.