Kansas City Royals: Jakob Junis continues to impress in rotation
The Kansas City Royals got their first win at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night, but the bigger story was the pitching performance of Jakob Junis, who was phenomenal.
Kansas City Royals fans didn’t expect much going into the 2018 season, but Jakob Junis has become the talk of the town. For good reason too, as he’s still yet to surrender a run while on the mound this year.
Junis’ first start was last week in Detroit in that miserable weather they were having in the Motor City. The weather didn’t phase him one bit though and he carried over the momentum from that game into his second start.
So far, Junis has thrown 14 scoreless innings, good for a 2-0 record and 0.50 WHIP. He’s walked three batters and struck out nine while giving up just four hits on the year. Junis actually carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Monday, but shortly after the MLB account tweeted the news out, the no-hitter was broken up.
.@jbljunis is rolling.
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2018
The @Royals righty is through 6 no-hit innings vs. the Mariners. pic.twitter.com/4y5E9RoZDE
That wasn’t a big deal though, as the Royals had a 9-0 lead, which was plenty of cushion for Junis to work with. This was nice to see after he was given just one run of support in his first start of the year.
Junis was pulled after the seventh inning and Brandon Maurer was given a chance to redeem himself by pitching a clean inning while Brian Flynn closed things out in the ninth. Junis probably could have pitched the eighth inning, but there wasn’t really a need to throw him out there. He got the job done for seven strong innings and is no longer a secret in Major League Baseball.
Under-the-radar breakout guy: Kansas City starter Jake Junis. He's got a truly great slider, which he throws for strikes and can bury for swings and misses. Now at 14 scoreless innings with only four hits allowed. Mariners managed just one in seven innings tonight.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 10, 2018
When looking at Junis’ history, he was quite the find for the Kansas City Royals, who drafted him in the 29th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He’s only 25 years old and the Royals will have control of him until 2024. It’s doubtful they’d consider trading him due to that fact alone and as of now, they shouldn’t trade him.
The Royals have struggled to develop home grown talent on the mound, but Junis looks to be bucking that trend so far. Sure it’s just two games and there’s a lot of baseball left to be played, but right now Junis is providing Royals fans with a fun source of entertainment. He’s been a lot of fun to watch pitch and hopefully he can keep this impressive streak going!
The 2018 probably season isn’t going to bring a lot of highlights for Kansas City Royals fans, but as of now, Jakob Junis is truly a bright spot for the boys in blue.