Will
Klein

6/21/16: The 6 foot 4 220 right handed pitcher showcased a heavy fastball that sat 84-87, touching 88.  Has good command to both sides of the plate.  Breaking ball sat 68-72 with gradual break in 11/5 shape.  Delivery is smooth with level shoulders and a high ¾ slot.  Room to add velo.

5/18/16 Game Notes: Uncommitted 2017 RHP came on in relief throwing 2.1IP with 3Ks allowing 3H and 4BB Wednesday night. Strong frame and arm with some command concerns after catching the first four innings. Over the top delivery can be stiff. No longer utilizes over the head pump. Fastball was the only pitch featured in the first inning of work and sat 84-88 and straight. Between innings the breaking ball flashed some good tilt.

10/18/15: Strong, physical frame at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds.  Recorded pop times of 2.15-2.25 and was 80 from the crouch.  Possesses a quick arm action once he gets to his arm slot.  Transfer is long with a tendency to pop straight up out of the shoot.  At the plate hits from a tall, open setup.  Bars the front arm during the load.  Lower half collapses at times.  Possesses above average bat speed with a level path to the baseball.  Pull-side type hitter with some pop.  Recorded a high exit velocity of 88 mph off the tee. 

PITCHING-6-foot-4, 210 pound righty pitches from an over the top slot with arm speed.  Stiff arm action.  Over the head pump delivery, inward turn.  Shows some rhythm.  Good line to the plate, lands square.  Fastball was 84-87, down in the zone but erratic.  Sweeping breaking ball at 70-71.  Changeup was thrown with fastball arm speed at 78-82 showing sink action.  

9/21/14:   6-foot-3, 200 pound receiver was 2.15-2.34 with his pop times and 67 from the crouch.  Big, strong frame.  Actions are stiff with raw receiving skills.  Needs to improve his range of motion and agility.  At the plate hits from a crouch position and uses a short stride.  Lacks use of the lower half.  Long swing path, consistently pulls the baseball.  Exit velo was 82 mph. The RHP pitches from a high ¾ slot with average arm speed.  Arm action is short.  Struggled to repeat his delivery and tends to fall off.  Fastball sat 77-80 with slight run.  Slider sat 67-70 while the curveball sat 63-65.  Both show gradual movement, but are erratic in the zone.  Changeup was 69-71. 

2020 DRAFT: Klein's name quickly made its way around the scouting community from our initial look last July when he touched triple digits and dominated the Northwoods League to the tune of a 0.85 ERA, 21 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 38 SO with 7 saves in 16 games. Back on campus in the fall, he continued to pump high velo fastballs with his heater peaking at 96 mph, while mostly sitting 93-94. This spring he sat in the 92-96 mph range with more sink than previously seen and peaked at 98. He also continued to show improvement with his control, striking out 33 in 24.1 IP. His spin rate is a modest 2100-2300 rpm, but with a 96-99% spin efficiency his heater plays at its velo. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds Klein is athletic and strong bodied with a fast arm that sets him apart from many other large framed righties who rely more on arm strength to produce velo...during Klein's bullpen warmups you can hear his hand speed. This quickness allows him to spin a sharp curveball in the low-80s with a 2700+ spin rate and an 85-88 mph slider. Both pitches will show above average at times, but he commands the slider much better and, as a result, will use it more often in games. At times he works on the side of the ball, causing more lateral spin and break well out of the zone to his gloveside. He also flashes a firm 88 mph changeup which is a work in progress. Klein profiles as a reliever at the professional level and will likely be considered around the fifth round.

9/15/19: Will Klein’s name has quickly made its way around the scouting community from Prep Baseball Report’s first look this past July. Back on campus this fall, he continues to pump mid-90 fastballs. On this latest look his heater peaked at 96 mph, mostly sitting 93-94. Overall, his four-seamer played true, but occasionally showed some bore and cut, depending upon his varied release point. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds Klein is athletic and strong bodied with a fast arm that should set him apart from many other large framed righties who rely more on arm strength to produce velo...during his bullpen warmups you could hear his hand speed. This quickness allows him to spin a sharp 80-83 mph curveball which showed above average at times. Other times he worked on the side of the ball, causing more lateral spin and break well out of the zone to his gloveside. Klein also flashed a firm 88 mph changeup which is a work in progress. Looking to the future, his draft status will ultimately be determined by his command, but he's currently a likely Day Two selection and profiles as a reliever at the professional level.

7/3/19: After in inauspicious spring in which Klein showed signs of developmental progress but struggled mightily to find the strike zone with any consistency, the big-bodied righty has emerged as one of the most impressive arms in the Northwoods League. Through the first half of the summer, Klein has dominated (2-1, 1.03 ERA/0.87 WHIP with 6 saves in 17.1 innings). Opponents are batting a paltry .123 against the Eastern Illinois power arm with an ISO of .067 and are striking out at a rate of almost two batters per inning (32 strikeouts in his 17.1 innings of work for a strikeout rate of 16.6 SO/9). In his most recent outing against Wisconsin this past weekend, Klein struck out the side to secure his sixth save of the summer. 11 pitches, 10 for strikes, all fastballs between 96 and 98 mph. Klein does a solid job of repeating his release and staying on line to the plate in spite of a long arm action and some imbalance through his landing. He’s done a good job of cutting way down on the walks (4.2 BB/9 this summer compared to 9.9 BB/9 this spring), but it will be important to monitor Klein’s ability to continue to hit his release and avoid free passes. While he did not need it in-game against Wisconsin, Klein also shows a plus curveball with hard 12-to-6 action and significant bite and depth, showing off the offering during his bullpen work prior to entering the game and during his warm-up pitches. While I’m reticent to ever get too excited over a one-inning relief look, Klein looks the part of an early Day 2 pick for the 2020 MLB Draft provided his control issues do not resurface – the raw stuff would have looked right at home in Cary, NC competing for a spot on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. (Faleris)