Kody Funderburk (born November 27, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Funderburk graduated from

Queen Creek High School Queen Creek High School is a public secondary school located in Queen Creek, Arizona. History The Queen Creek Unified School District, Queen Creek school district did not open a high school until 1986, when it became a unified school district; ...

Queen Creek, Arizona Queen Creek is a town in Maricopa and Pinal counties in the state of Arizona. The population was 59,519 as of the 2020 census, up from 26,361 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona located in the far southeast area of the Phoe ...

. He began his college baseball career at

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the United States in ter ...

. He then transferred to

Dallas Baptist University Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a Christian liberal arts university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. History Dallas Baptist Uni ...

. The

selected Funderburk in the 15th round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

, recording a 4.93 ERA in 10 games. Funderburk spent the 2019 season with the Single–A Cedar Rapids Kernels, also appearing in one game for the High–A Fort Myers Miracle. In 12 games (10 starts) for Fort Myers, he posted a 4.68 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 50.0 innings pitched. Funderburk did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He returned to action in 2021, splitting the year between Cedar Rapids and the Double–A Wichita Wind Surge. In 18 games (10 starts) split between the two affiliates, Funderburk combined to a 4–3 record and 2.55 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 4 saves in 67.0 innings pitched. He spent the entire 2022 season back in Wichita, registering a 10–5 record and 2.94 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 107.0 innings of work. Funderburk began the 2023 season with Double–A Wichita, and was promoted to the Triple–A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

after 5 games. In 37 appearances for the Saints, he registered a 2.60 ERA with 75 strikeouts and 5 saves in 52.0 innings of work. On August 28, 2023, Funderburk was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the same day and earned his first win after pitching two perfect innings in relief of Kenta Maeda in a 10–6 home victory over the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

.Campbell, Dave. "Royce Lewis hits his 2nd slam in 2 days; Twins top the Guardians 10–6 for 7-game lead," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Monday, August 28, 2023.
Retrieved August 28, 2023.

References

External links

Dallas Baptist Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funderburk, Kody 1996 births Living people Baseball players from Mesa, Arizona Cedar Rapids Kernels players Dallas Baptist Patriots baseball players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Scottsdale Scorpions players People from Queen Creek, Arizona St. Paul Saints players Wichita Wind Surge players