Kansas City Royals: Will Klein is another flame throwing reliever

With the 135th overall pick, the Kansas City Royals selected right-handed pitcher Will Klein out of Eastern Illinois University.

The Kansas City Royals completed their excellent 2020 draft on Thursday. Their fourth and final pick on Day 2 was 135th overall and they added a flame throwing college pitching prospect.

Will Klein is a 6’5”, 230 pound, 20-year-old, right-handed hitting pitcher with plus fastball, an above-average curveball, and developing change-up. He reached 99 mph with his fastball during the Northwoods League last year in route to a sub 1.00 ERA season.

Klein had a fantastic season in the Northwoods League last summer putting up a 0.86 ERA, 0.762 WHIP, 38 Ks in 21.0 innings accumulating 7 saves. He converted to a starter in 2020 and struggled before the season was shut-down.

According to the scouting report on mlb.com;

"“As a starter in 2020, Klein worked at 92-94 mph and topped out at 96 with his four-seam fastball, which is fairly straight but does feature some riding action. He also flashed a solid curveball with power and depth. He began incorporating a changeup into his repertoire, but it lacks velocity separation from his heater and lags well behind his other two offerings.”"

Klein is a power reliever, capable of handling high leverage situations. He has an overhand release and typically works out of the stretch. On his release he falls off toward the first base bag, but generates velocity with little effort.

Klein’s overhand mechanics allow his big looping curveball to tunnel well with his high 90 mph fastball. His curveball has 12-6 movement and is a borderline plus pitch. The change-up was put into play as Klein transitioned into a starter role and needs to more development.

I do not think he currently has the confidence in throwing the pitch in-game situations. Without a solid three-pitch mix, it would be best to allow Klein to focus on improving his high velocity fastball and above-average curveball out of the bullpen.

The fastball typically sits in the middle to upper 90s mph, with him dialing it up to 99 mph. The fastball is a plus pitch with some late movement to the arm side.

Klein’s scouting grades project him to be number five type starter (4.50 FIP) or late-inning reliever. He appears to be physically maxed out and needs to work on refining his command. If Klein develops a consistent change-up that has more a velocity differential from his fastball, he could become a solid starter.

As it currently stands, he is more of a flame throwing reliever. As a reliever, his fastball and curveball play well off of each other. Klein had enough strikeout stuff to generate a career 12.8 K/9 rate with Eastern Illinois.

Klein will slot outside of the Royals top 30 prospects after he signs. He could be elite reliever further on down the road if he becomes a more consistent strike thrower.

Klein will get some extended time in the minors to see if the Royals attempt to make him into a full-time starter. He could make a debut in the majors around 2024, if he converts to a reliever, we could see him as soon as 2023 if he shows consistent command.

Do not overlook fifth round picks some of them have gone on to be stars and hall of famers. Klein could be an elite reliever with a high powered fastball and devastating curveball.