If you rewind to 2016, Kyle Funkhouser was one of the Tigers' top pitching prospects. If you rewind to 2018, he was making his way to the bigs. And if you rewind to this spring, he was headed back to the minors in Detroit's first wave of cuts from big-league camp -- just a few days after his 27th birthday.
"We had a tough conversation in the spring when we sent him down," A.J. Hinch said Monday. "He wasn’t thrilled to be sent down so quickly in camp. He took it very personally and went down and worked on it."
Funkhouser got with Tigers director of pitcher development Dan Hubbs and broke down some video. They shortened Funkhouser's arm path, which had grown a little long. A small adjustment made a big difference. Almost immediately, Funkhouser said his stuff "just started to play better."
"It played up a little bit. A little more explosive. Timing was a little better. It started to click and I started to throw a little harder. Went to Toledo and was throwing the ball really well. Was on the taxi squad, got my chance and just took advantage of that opportunity," Funkhouser said.
His chance came in May. Funkhouser delivered two solid relief innings at Fenway Park in a close loss to the Red Sox. If you fast-forward to today, he's one of Hinch's most trusted arms in an improving Tigers bullpen. He even served as an opener last weekend against the Astros and kept the best offense in baseball off the board. He's throwing fastballs, sinkers and sliders with as much conviction as ever, and mixing in a change for good measure.
"Funkhouser’s made a huge difference for us in this bullpen. Just an added bullet at the end of the game or the middle of the game," said Hinch. "I can give a rest day to a pitcher and not have a drop-off because it’s not just one or two guys that get the ball in winning scenarios."
With a healthy Michael Fulmer, it's more like three or four. He and Funkhouser have teamed up with Jose Cisnero and Gregory Soto to form a reliable bridge in the back of Detroit's bullpen, which has an ERA under 4.00 during the club's best 45-game stretch since 2016. No coincidence. And with Fulmer currently sidelined, it might not be long before Funkhouser closes a game.
"I haven’t quite given him the last three outs yet, but he can do that," said Hinch.
Funkhouser can do a lot right now, and maybe that will lead him back to the rotation in time. He was never anything but a starter until debuting in the big leagues as a reliever last season. He struggled in 13 games. He struggled more this spring. He has a 3.24 ERA in 19 outings this season and looks like he's here to stay.
"It feels incredible honestly," Funkhouser said. "It’s been a lot of ups in the minor leagues -- Double-A, even some ups in Triple-A. But it was a lot of downs. It’s how it goes, you gotta learn from it. It takes some guys longer than others to learn yourself. A coach can tell you over and over, 'You’re doing this but you need to do this,' and until you can take it upon yourself to make the adjustments and stay with it – it feels awesome.
"Just really happy personally, but also to help the team. Pitching in some big spots right now and it’s really satisfying."
So it is for the Tigers, who have salvaged an arm that looked lost. None of this seemed possible, not this quickly, if you rewind to that afternoon in Boston.
"That singular performance can jumpstart a guy (to believe) that 'I belong here and I can get outs here and I want to prove to the organization that I can be one of the guys.' And he catapulted forward," said Hinch. "Answering the challenge in spring training and responding when he got the opportunity has really ignited him."