Louisville’s Kyle Funkhouser States Case for Top-Five Selection

In an otherwise depressing draft season, Kyle Funkhouser did his best to raise our spirits over the weekend, delivering a signature performance that – outside of Dillon Tate and the recently injured Chris Shaw – most of this year’s top amateur prospects have yet to.

The Louisville righthander was simply dominant facing Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday. Working heavily off a fastball that ranged between 93-96 mph and touched 97 several times, he held command through his 112^th and final pitch while keeping the Blue Devils off-balance with three offspeed pitches that all flashed at least average. In seven scoreless innings, he notched eight strikeouts with four hits and one walk.

Thanks to the injuries sustained by other top hurlers who were candidates to go inside the top 10 picks – Brady Aiken, Michael Matuella and Kolby Allard among them – this year’s draft has turned into a battle of attrition. Funkhouser’s not only winning that battle (knock on wood), but has now separated himself with a performance that this draft desperately needed. The industry wanted the Funk, and it got the Funk. I know the pun-making opportunities here are rife, but only a terrible one levels expectations for all future puns and me professionally.

Physical Description

At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Funkhouser has a broad, sturdy upper build and strong lower half suitable for handling a starting pitcher’s workload. Although his frame is basically maxed out, he already offers premium velocity that negates the lack of projection. His delivery isn’t particularly athletic and his plodding footwork around the mound makes you wish he was lighter on his feet, but he does exhibit good body control in a compact motion.

Stuff

Funkhouser’s fastball stole the show on Friday, showing 70-grade potential on the strength of sustained mid-90s velocity, good movement and above-average command. Featuring solid plane with arm-side run and sink, the pitch generated weak contact from Blue Devils hitters when they weren’t waving through it entirely. Throughout his seven innings, he kept the ball down in the lower third of the zone and moved it from side to side when he wanted to.

His slider is the most advanced of his three offspeed pitches. Registering between 83-86 mph, it flashes plus potential with occasionally sharp downward movement, good rotation and varying tilt. He still needs to improve his feel for the pitch, as it sometimes flattens out or gets buried in the dirt when seeking front-door entry, although he did well to find the same release point he uses to throw his fastball.

He didn’t throw many curveballs or changeups on this night, mostly because he didn’t need to, but also because both pitches are works in progress. The curveball is a 79-82 mph offering that shows occasional bite and should be at least an average pitch someday, while his mid-80s changeup is still much too firm and merely a show-me offering at this stage.

Mechanics

Funkhouser has a short, simple arm action with an otherwise compact delivery that limits wasted motion. He begins with a standard leg kick, transitioning to a short takeaway before beginning a small, circular swing to his mid-three-quarters slot. His above-average arm speed and abbreviated path together offer some deception, and he gets very good extension down the mound while staying closed, although moderate effort produces light recoil in his finish.

One unusual – and unsettling – mechanical kink occurs at the time of release, as he consistently lands with his plant foot pointing toward the third base line, compelling him to throw slightly across his body and fall off toward the first base side while putting undue stress on the outer part of his knee. This didn’t affect his ability to throw strikes that night, and it’s certainly not anything that professional pitching coaches won’t be able to stamp out later, but it stunts the degree to which I can project command.

Summation

Funkhouser offers a true game-changer in his fastball that, combined with a bulldog mentality, potential plus slider and feel for other secondaries, give him a ceiling as a front-end starter. The most critical things in his development will be improving the quality of his changeup as well as sharpening his command, which his feel and aptitude for pitching should allow him to do. As one of the few top-tier prospects who offers both a relatively high ceiling and high floor, he was already a strong candidate for the top 10 picks before last weekend, but if he sustains this performance level down the stretch in front of decision-makers, he won’t last beyond the top five.

Fastball: 60/70, Slider: 50/60, Curveball: 40/50+, Changeup: 40/50, Command: 45/50+

• Duke righthander Sarkis Ohanian, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, entered Friday’s game in relief sitting 91-93 mph with a running fastball and a future average slider at 80-82. He should land somewhere at the back of the draft along with fellow bullpen mate Kenny Koplove, a 6-foot-1 righthander who, like Ohanian, offers a reliever profile with an average fastball-slider combination.

• Louisville shortstop Sutton Whiting, a 44^th-round selection of the Braves in 2011, is a likely senior sign who offers defensive value. Carrying a slash line of .368/.488/.471, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound sparkplug shows good contact ability and fluid actions that will keep him in the middle of the diamond, although his arm strength is better suited for second base.

• Louisville righthander Zack Burdi (So.), outfielder Corey Ray (So.) and lefthander Brendan McKay (Fr.) will all demand scouts’ attention in the post-Funkhouser era. Burdi closed out Friday’s victory over the Blue Devils with a fastball that ranged from 96-98 mph and featured cut and run, although it’s thrown with the kind of effort that typically lands power arms in professional bullpens. Ray, a 33^rd-rounder of the Mariners in 2013, has an intriguing blend of power and speed with a chance to play center field, but his approach is raw. McKay – whom one scout in attendance predicted would win the Golden Spikes Award two years from now – is one of the best two-way players in the country. His pro future, however, is on the mound, where he reportedly registered between 88-92 mph with a power curveball at 77-80 during his start on Sunday.