Junis makes strong rotation bid with four no-hit innings

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Right-hander Jakob Junis rebounded from a rocky first appearance with the Brewers’ most efficient start of the spring Sunday.

Junis struck out three in four hitless innings of a 3-1 Cactus League loss to the Colorado Rockies, when he threw four changeups into a predominantly sinker/slider mix and limited the Rockies from any hard contact.

“He was great. He was fantastic,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s a veteran. He can pitch.”

When and where Junis pitches, the Brewers are in the process of working that through with the season opener 18 days away. Junis was used as both an opener and a bulk guy in San Francisco over the last two seasons, and Murphy said that both options are on the table here.

“[Starting] can be a role, or he could be in the middle of the game, whatever, but he’s certainly shown he’s stretched out,” Murphy said. “He proved today that if we need him to be the starter, he can do it. He could add a lot."

Junis would embrace a starting role after spending the first three years of his career in the Kansas City Royals’ rotation, but he is bringing a team-first mentality into the situation.

"I’m not a guy that is going into [Murphy’s] office and demand starts,” Junis said. “That’s just not who I am. I want to help this team any way I can, and that’s what I’m going to do.

“I’m really not worried about it. Last year I did a little bit of both. That was a great experience. If I need to be a multiple [innings] guy out of the 'pen, if they need me to start, that’s totally their decision and I'm fine with it.”

Junis cruised through his outing Sunday. He hit No. 2 hitter Kris Bryant with a slider in the first inning, but that was the Rockies' only baserunner off him over his 56-pitch outing.

“I think the key after last outing was getting that glove-side sinker,” said Junis, who gave up four runs in his first Cactus League start against San Francisco on Tuesday. “I think I did a really good job of kind of staying within my mechanics and dialing in that glove-side sinker. Got some good results.”

Junis got six ground ball outs to go with his three strikeouts -- two on the sinker that sat at 92-93 mph and one on a changeup, a pitch he plans to incorporate more.

“Something toward the end of last year that got a lot better was my changeup,” Junis said. “It’s just about finding the consistency with it. Didn’t throw it a whole lot, but I have a lot of confidence in the pitch. The way I finished with it last year as well. Some of my best outings were against lefty-heavy lineups that I had that third offering.”

Benefitting from that approach, Junis held left-handed hitters to a .259 batting average in 2023. Righties hit .274. His strikeout rate of 10.05 per nine innings was a career high. His slider graded out as his most effective pitch, according to FanGraphs.

“Kind of have a big bag of things I can throw and not be so predictable,” said Junis, who also uses an occasional four-seam fastball.

Junis made 89 starts in five seasons with the Kansas City Royals before his last two seasons in San Francisco. He had a career-low 3.87 ERA in 40 appearances last year.

“I am not too far removed from starting,” Junis said. “If they want to give me a shot at that, I’m going to definitely go out there and throw some innings and try to contribute as best I can.

“Coming to a new team, I’m anxious to learn from these guys. San Francisco really helped me get better as a pitcher. I think I left there a [much] better pitcher than when I came in, and it’s the same thing here. Just constantly wanting to grow and get better and be open-minded and go from there.”

Starting candidate Joe Ross followed Junis and gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in three innings. The right-hander suffered a split fingernail on his throwing hand during the outing, but Murphy said the team did not consider it serious.