Junis is expected to start the Royals' second game of the regular season March 30 versus the White Sox, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Beyond announcing that Brad Keller would take the hill for Opening Day, the Royals haven't formally outlined their rotation plans to begin the season. Manager Ned Yost did clear things up somewhat Tuesday, however, when he said Ian Kennedy would head to the bullpen, leaving Junis, Jorge Lopez and Homer Bailey to follow Keller in the pitching schedule. Junis had some decent moments in 2018 -- particularly in the second half -- but he served up a whopping 32 home runs in 30 starts to prop up his ERA and WHIP to an underwhelming 4.37 and 1.27, respectively. He hasn't seemed to correct his struggles with reining in the long ball so far this spring, serving up two homers over 12.1 innings.