Cameron Junker

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2019
A-:  5-0-5, 1.29 ERA, 0.86 ERA, 28.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 14.5 K/9

Junker pitched in short relief for West Virginia and dominated.  He had a very high K rate and opponents managed just a 143/233/198 line against him.  Right-handed batters had a pitiful .283 OPS against him, but left-handed batters did fine, putting up a .712 figure.

2020
DNP

2021
A:  2-0-1, 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 6.0 BB/9, 14.1 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 15.8 K/9

A little surprisingly, the Pirates sent Junker to Bradenton rather than Greensboro at the start of the season.  Over 14 games, he missed a ton of bats and held opponents to a .143 average.  He did have problems with walks, which kept him from totally dominating.  In mid-July, the Pirates moved him up to Greensboro, but after three games he suffered an unknown injury and didn’t return.

2022
A+:  6-3-12, 3.64 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 47.0 IP, 4.6 BB/9, 11.9 K/9
AA:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 4.1 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 14.5 K/9

Junker spent most of the season at Greensboro, often serving as the closer.  He had a rough time in May and June, but came around very well in the second half.  From July on, including four strong late-season outings with Altoona, he had an ERA of 1.85, WHIP of 1.07 and K/9 of 1.32.  The early-season scuffling can’t be blamed on the Greensboro ballpark, as he was dramatically more effective there than on the road.  He also had a huge platoon split, except this was a reverse split.  Left-handed hitters had only a .471 OPS against him.

Many of the Pirates’ pitching prospects have struggled when they’ve reached Greensboro, so it was good to see Junker go in the other direction.  He could see Indianapolis in 2023.