Kyle Funkhouser

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Detroit Tigers #28 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: The Dodgers drafted Funkhouser with one of their two first round picks in 2015, but the righthander opted to return to Louisville for his senior season. The move backfired as he fell to the fourth round of the 2017 draft to the Tigers. After breaking his foot in 2018 and dealing with shoulder soreness in May, Funkhouser struggled badly at Triple-A Toledo in 2019. He logged an 8.53 ERA and walked 54 batters across 63.1 innings in the International League.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Funkhouser relies on his excellent arm strength. He throws his fastball in the 92-96 mph range and can manipulate it to throw a sinker, which is a touch below the velocity of his four-seam fastball. Funkhouser can spin a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that grades as future average but doesn't generate many swings and misses. His third offering is a changeup in the upper-80s that doesn't present much variance off his heater. Funkhouser's control is well below average, with many unsure he'll throw enough strikes to even be a reliable option in relief.
  
  THE FUTURE: Funkhouser's control may push him out of the rotation and into the bullpen soon enough. His pitch mix and arm strength still have upside for the rebuilding Tigers.
• 
  Ranked Detroit Tigers #16 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: After three years at Louisville, Funkhouser gambled on himself. The Dodgers chose him with one of their two first round picks in 2015, but he opted to go back to school for another season. The gambit backfired, and he fell to the fourth round in 2017. Funkhouser dealt with a bout of elbow soreness in 2017, but he came back strong in 2018 before breaking his foot after a promotion to Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Report: Funkhouser’s fastball touches 95 but tends to sit comfortably in the low 90s. His changeup will be average in the future, and his two breaking pitches are of the same grade, though the consistency of both pitches varies from start to start. With average command, he can throw all of his pitches in different counts to give batters a different look. He also gets deception from a compact delivery.
  
  The Future: As he works to create some consistency with his secondary stuff, Funkhouser will spend more time at Double-A. With a plus fastball and other average offerings, he profiles to fit in as an innings-eater toward the back end of a rotation.
• 
  Ranked Detroit Tigers #11 prospect in 2018
  Funkhouser had to wait longer than expected to become a pro. He was expected to be one of the best pitchers in the 2015 draft class, but his stuff took a step back and his control wavered as April turned to May. He slid to the back of the first round (35th overall) and turned down the Dodgers to return for his senior season. The same issues repeated as a senior and he slid to the fourth round. Since signing he's looked more like first-round talent he'd showed earlier in his Louisville career, but the durability he's always shown deserted him in 2017. The Tigers shut him down with elbow soreness and say he's recovered well without surgery and expect him to be ready for 2018. Before he went on the DL, Funkhouser proved he could beat hitters with his 92-96 mph fastball that shows quality life. He uses his slider too much, but it is a plus pitch at its best and he has a fringy bigger curveball that works as a surprise early-count change of pace. His changeup is unlikely to ever be a weapon, but it can be average as it has enough separation and his fastball is good enough that hitters can't wait for the change. Funkhouser's control is much better than it was late in his college career and he shows average command when he's really locked in. He should head back to Lakeland, but a midseason promotion could be in the offing if he performs as he has so far.
• 
  Ranked Detroit Tigers #5 prospect in 2017
  The Dodgers made Funkhouser the No. 35 overall pick in the 2015 draft, at the time the highest ever for a Louisville player. He had been projected as a possible top-10 pick earlier that year, so he returned to school for his senior season. And while Louisville had the best record in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second straight year, Funkhouser started poorly and fell to the fourth round in 2016. The Tigers were pleased to find Funkhouser available for their second pick. The Tigers limited Funkhouser's workload at short-season Connecticut after he threw 93.1 innings in the spring, but he still showed an impressive arsenal and much-improved control after signing for $750,000. He pitched at 90-95 mph as a pro but peaked at 97 during instructional league. He coupled his fastball with an 82-86 mph slider that scouts project to be an average pitch. His changeup lacks movement but has good separation from his fastball and has average potential. His early-count curveball ranks as a fourth pitch. After walking 4.3 per nine innings in four college seasons, Funkhouser pounded the zone (1.9 BB/9) in his pro debut. If Funkhouser keeps throwing strikes, he has the physicality and fastball to be a mid-rotation innings-eater. He could move quickly, starting 2017 at high Class A Lakeland.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #85 prospect in 2016 draft
  Righthanders Mark Appel and Luke Hochevar turned down millions as first-round picks as juniors, returned to school and became the No. 1 overall pick. That will not happen for Funkhouser as he's struggled with consistency, command and stuff in an inconsistent senior season after turning down the Dodgers as the 35th pick in the 2015 draft. After a particularly poor outing against Virginia he was bumped from being Louisville's Friday starter to pitching on Sundays. Funkhouser's stuff did pick up as the season wore on. His 88-92 mph fastball started touching 93-95 on a more regular basis. But even then his lack of consistency vexed evaluators. Funkhouser struggles to locate his plus fastball at the top registers of his velocity. His breaking ball--he's shifted more to a curve late in the season, shelving his slider--flashes above-average, but this year it's much more regularly been a fringe average offeringwith little bite. His changeup also earns fringy grades. Funkhouser's sum of his parts is often less than the pieces, as he struggles to maintain consistent stuff and command over the length of his starts. His control troubles are especially notable against lefthanded hitters-he's walked eight batters per nine innings in matchups versus lefties. Funkhouser still should be at least a useful power reliever, where he could simplify his pitch selection and his control troubles would be lessened. Industry sources are more skeptical of his chances of sticking as a starter than there were a year ago.
• Ranked #14 prospect in 2015 draft
  Barring something completely unexpected, Funkhouser will become the first Louisville player to be taken in the first round of the MLB draft. Trystan Manguson's supplemental first-round selection in 2007 is currently the school's top draftee. Funkhouser has a lengthy track record, including being the ace of USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team last summer, and has proven very durable. Thickly built at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Funkouse had made every start over the past two seasons and averages 111 pitches a start this season, having topped 100 pitches in 11 of his first 13 starts. Funkhouser's control is well below average for a first-round college arm. He's improved his control as a junior, but his 3.7 walks per nine innings is a high number. Part of Funkhouser's control issues come from the life of his fastball; sometimes it simply leaks out of the zone thanks to its excellent run. Funkhouser's two-seam fastball is a potentially plus pitch. He pitches at 91-94 mph down in the zone with a two-seamer with plenty of bore and he gets excellent extension. He can elevate with a four-seamer that touches 96-97 when he needs it but it's a truer pitch that's easier to hit. The rest of Funkhouser's assortment is solid. His slider shows flashes of developing into a plus pitch as he can throw it for strikes or bury it and he has shown a feel for using it to backdoor righthanded hitters. His curveball is more of a get-over pitch. He uses his changeup infrequently but it has a shown average potential. Funkhouser has a solid chance to be a solid mid-rotation starter who keeps the ball in the park. His stuff would seem to indicate that he has a higher ceiling, but so far he's yet to show the command to unlock that potential consistently.
• Ranked #360 prospect in 2012 draft
  Funkhouser continues to win, carrying a 30-2 career record into the Illinois 3-A regional playoffs, but scouts think his stuff and body were a little better when he was a junior. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder consistently pitches at 87-90 mph and tops out at 92 with his fastball. His slurvy curveball has a chance to become an average pitch, and his changeup shows some sink. He will be difficult to sign away from a Louisville commitment.

• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Dodgers drafted Funkhouser with one of their two first round picks in 2015, but the righthander opted to return to Louisville for his senior season. The move backfired as he fell to the fourth round of the 2017 draft to the Tigers. After breaking his foot in 2018 and dealing with shoulder soreness in May, Funkhouser struggled badly at Triple-A Toledo in 2019. He logged an 8.53 ERA and walked 54 batters across 63.1 innings in the International League.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Funkhouser relies on his excellent arm strength. He throws his fastball in the 92-96 mph range and can manipulate it to throw a sinker, which is a touch below the velocity of his four-seam fastball. Funkhouser can spin a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that grades as future average but doesn't generate many swings and misses. His third offering is a changeup in the upper-80s that doesn't present much variance off his heater. Funkhouser's control is well below average, with many unsure he'll throw enough strikes to even be a reliable option in relief.
  
  THE FUTURE: Funkhouser's control may push him out of the rotation and into the bullpen soon enough. His pitch mix and arm strength still have upside for the rebuilding Tigers.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Funkhouser made it to Triple-A with his standard combination of excellent stuff and at times shaky control. That’s been the scouting report on Funkhouser going back to his days at Louisville, and it should be enough to get him to the big leagues. Funkhouser’s 92-95 mph fastball can miss bats and his above-average slider gives him a second weapon.
• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: The Dodgers made Funkhouser the No. 35 overall pick in the 2015 draft, at the time the highest ever for a Louisville player. He had been projected as a possible top-10 pick earlier that year, so he returned to school for his senior season. And while Louisville had the best record in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second straight year, Funkhouser started poorly and fell to the fourth round in 2016. The Tigers were pleased to find Funkhouser available for their second pick. Scouting Report: The Tigers limited Funkhouser's workload at short-season Connecticut after he threw 93.1 innings in the spring, but he still showed an impressive arsenal and much-improved control after signing for $750,000. He pitched at 90-95 mph as a pro but peaked at 97 during instructional league. He coupled his fastball with an 82-86 mph slider that scouts project to be an average pitch. His changeup lacks movement but has good separation from his fastball and has average potential. His early-count curveball ranks as a fourth pitch. After walking 4.3 per nine innings in four college seasons, Funkhouser pounded the zone (1.9 BB/9) in his pro debut.
  
  The Future: If Funkhouser keeps throwing strikes, he has the physicality and fastball to be a mid-rotation innings-eater. He could move quickly, starting 2017 at high Class A Lakeland.