Jake Junis Got An Unexpected Call

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Jake Junis did not pitch well in his first big league spring training, but after one Triple-A Omaha start he was promoted to the Kansas City bullpen.

Junis was added to the Royals’ 40-man roster for the first time during the offseason after an impressive 2016. He had a 3.25 ERA in 21 starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas and named a Texas League postseason all-star.

But in four spring training appearances, Junis had a 15.19 ERA, allowing nine earned runs on 10 hits and four walks in 5.1 innings.

“It was a learning experience, getting up and throwing for the first time in big league camp and not really knowing what to expect,” Junis said. “I made the adjustments when I went down and got some more innings. I feel better than where I was at.”

In his first Storm Chasers’ start, he allowed two runs on four hits over 6.1 innings at Colorado Springs on April 14.

Three nights later he was dining with his wife in Omaha when his cell phone rang. The word was you are not making your next Omaha start, report instead to Kansas City to be a reliever.

“It was a complete shock,” Junis said. “I was never expecting it.”

He and his wife canceled their dinner order and went back to the room to begin calling family and friends.

He did not have to sit in the bullpen long. He worked around a single and two walks to pitch a scoreless ninth against Oakland. He got Marcus Semien to ground into a 3-2-3 double play with the bases loaded.

“Not the greatest,” Junis rated his big league debut. “I’m just thankful I got out of it. It’s never good to go out there and walk guys and let guys get on base like that. I want to challenge hitters and let them beat me, not me beat myself. It definitely could be better. I’m just thankful I had good defense behind me.”

ROYALTIES

• Righthander Josh Staumont, the Royals’ top prospect, struck out 12 and allowed one hit over six innings in an April 13 victory against Round Rock in his first home start for Triple-A Omaha.

• Righthander Kyle Zimmer, the Royals’ 2012 first-round pick, was promoted to Triple-A Omaha after one start with Northwest Arkansas. But in his first start at Omaha, he left after one inning with a sore shoulder and was put on the disabled list.

— Alan Eskew is a writer based in Kansas City