Kyle Funkhouser

Kyle James Funkhouser (born March 16, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball for the Louisville Cardinals, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the 115th overall selection in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tigers.

Kyle Funkhouser
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1994-03-16) March 16, 1994 (age 30) Palos Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 27, 2020, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics (through 2021 season)
Win–loss record	8–5
Earned run average	4.20
Strikeouts	75
Teams
Detroit Tigers (2020–2021)

Amateur career

Funkhouser attended Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest, Illinois. As a senior, he was the Illinois Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after going 11–2 with a 0.65 earned run average (ERA) and 132 strikeouts.^[1][2] He finished his career with school records in wins, strikeouts, ERA and innings pitched.^[3] Funkhouser was also on the school's football and basketball teams.^[4]

As a freshman at the University of Louisville in 2013, Funkhouser appeared in 22 games for the Louisville Cardinals baseball team, with six starts. He finished the year 5–1 with a 2.14 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 54+2⁄3 innings. For his play he was named a freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger.^[5] After the 2013 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.^[6] As a sophomore in 2014, Funkhouser started 18 games, finishing with a school record and NCAA Division I tying 13 wins.^[7] He also had a 1.94 ERA and 122 strikeouts. After the season, he was named a first team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).^[8] During the summer he played for the United States collegiate national team.^[9][10]

Funkhouser was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 35th overall pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.^[11] He opted not to sign with the Dodgers, returning to Louisville for his senior year.^[12] He reportedly turned down a signing bonus of $1.75 million.^[13]

After posting a 9–3 record with a 3.86 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 93+1⁄3 innings as a senior, Funkhouser was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. He was selected in the fourth round, the 115th overall selection.^[14]

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Funkhouser signed with the Tigers, receiving a reported $750,000 signing bonus.^[15] He made his professional debut on June 27, 2016, playing for the Connecticut Tigers of the Low-A New York-Penn League; he spent the whole season with the Tigers, playing in 13 games and pitching to an 0–2 record and 2.65 ERA.^[16]

Funkhouser began the 2017 season with the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Single-A Midwest League, winning his first game on April 7.^[16] The Tigers promoted him to the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the High-A Florida State League in May.^[17] In 12 games started between both teams, he posted a 5–2 record and 2.44 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 62.2 total innings.^[18] Funkhouser began the 2018 season with the Erie SeaWolves of the Double-A Eastern League, and earned a midseason promotion to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Triple-A International League.^[19] Funkhouser was added to the Tigers 40–man roster following the 2019 season.^[20]

On July 27, 2020, Funkhouser made his MLB debut. He earned his first major league win on September 6, 2020, against the Minnesota Twins.^[21] With the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Funkhouser appeared in 13 games, compiling a 1–1 record with 7.27 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched.^[22]

In 2021, Funkhouser appeared most of the season in middle relief for the Tigers. He earned his first career save on September 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays.^[23] Overall in 2021, Funkhouser made 57 appearances (55 in relief), posting a 7–4 record and 3.42 ERA, while striking out 63 batters in 68+1⁄3 innings.

On April 6, 2022, the Tigers announced Funkhouser would start the 2022 season on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.^[24] On April 23, Funkhouser was moved to the 60-day injured list.^[25] On July 23, it was announced that would miss the entire season after it was revealed he required surgery to address the injury.^[26] On November 15, Funkhouser was designated for assignment by the Tigers.^[27] Three days later, Funkhouser was non-tendered and became a free agent.

Texas Rangers

On January 5, 2023, Funkhouser signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization.^[28] He elected free agency on November 6. ^[29]

References

1. "Oak Forest's Funkhouser named Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year". Chicago Tribune. May 30, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
2. Kremer, Ron (June 1, 2012). "Oak Forest's Funkhouser Named Gatorade Player of the Year". Oak Forest, Illinois Patch. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
3. "Winning's nothing new to Louisville's Kyle Funkhouser". courier-journal.com. May 21, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
4. . suntimes.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
5. . gocards.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
6. "#46 Kyle Funkhouser - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
7. Borzi, Pat (June 15, 2014). "Louisville Brings the Heat and the Funk". The New York Times.
8. . suntimes.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
9. . GoCards.com – Official Website of University of Louisville Athletics. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
10. "Funkhouser leads list of top prospects on Team USA". Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
11. Gurnick, Ken (June 8, 2015). "With 35th pick, LA drafts righty Funkhouser". mlb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
12. Jones, Steve (July 17, 2015). "Ace Funkhouser returning to U of L". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
13. "Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't sign draft pick Kyle Funkhouser - Los Angeles - Dodgers Report- ESPN". Espn.go.com. July 18, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
14. "UofL's Funkhouser goes 4th round this time". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
15. 5:19 p.m. ET June 21, 2016 (June 21, 2016). "Louisville baseball pitcher Kyle Funkhouser signs with Detroit Tigers as fourth-round draft pick". Courier-journal.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
16. "Kyle Funkhouser Career Stats - 2016". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
17. Boor, William (January 20, 2016). "Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser making Lakeland debut | MLB.com". M.mlb.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
18. "Kyle Funkhouser Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
19. "Funkhouser, Hall earn promotions to Toledo".
20. Anthony Fenech (November 20, 2019). "Detroit Tigers protect six players from Rule 5 draft. Here are their selections". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
21. Beck, Jason (September 6, 2020). "Tigers' trio notches career firsts in win". mlb.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Kyle Funkhouser Stats, Fantasy & News | Detroit Tigers". MLB.com.
23. "Tigers 2, Rays 0". mlb.com. September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
24. Petzold, Evan (April 6, 2022). "Detroit Tigers roster moves: Jose Cisnero to 60-day injured list; Willi Castro to Triple-A". freep.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
25. "Cody Stavenhagen Tweet". twitter.com. April 23, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
26. "Detroit Tigers' Alex Faedo (hip), Kyle Funkhouser (shoulder) to miss rest of 2022 season". freep.com. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
27. "Tigers add 5 youngsters to the roster; veteran reliever among those cut". mlive.com. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
28. "Rangers' Kyle Funkhouser: Agrees to deal with Rangers". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
29. https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-11-06

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet