Fantasy Baseball: 4 Pitchers to Stream for Week 23
Jake Junis, Kansas City Royals
Starts: September 4th at Detroit Tigers, September 9th vs. Minnesota Twins
ESPN ownership: 13 percent
Fantasy owners might be sleeping on Kansas City Royals righty Jake Junis. The 24-year-old has been on one heck of a run since re-joining the Royals rotation in early August, twirling 27.1 innings of 2.96-ERA ball that's certified by a pristine 2.18 FIP and a walk rate below 2%. It's hard to see what's not to like here for starter-hungry fantasy owners: his strikeout rate over that span approaches 25%, his hard-hit rate sits at a lean 25.6%, and his slider's limited hitters to a mere .524 on base plus slugging percentage despite an outsized .405 BABIP.
Expect Junis' surprisingly tepid ownership to spike this week, as he possesses one of the strongest prospects of any two-start candidate. After all, the Tigers have been one of the league's least-imposing offenses in the second half -- and those stats barely account for the recent loss of their most consistent offensive contributor.
That said, a surging Twins squad, who (like the Royals themselves) are in the thick of the AL Wild Card hunt, seem unlikely to roll over for the young righty. The Twins are among the league's most-disciplined teams in the second half, so they should challenge Junis to build on his incredible 13.5 strikeout-per-walk rate. But even if Junis struggles to rack up strikeouts against the Twins, Kauffman Stadium (bottom-four home run factor over the last four years) should lift his floor.
