- Daniel Christopher Klein was born in Long Beach, California, on July 27, 1988.
- His parents are Chris and Teri Klein, and he has two younger siblings, Thomas and Katie.
- Listed at 6'3", 195 lbs; he bats and throws right-handed.
- Played both baseball and football at Servite High School in Anaheim, CA.
- As a football player, he was a starter from his sophmore season on; was the league MVP his first two years, totaled almost 5000 yards passing for his career, and broke several Serra league passing records.
- As a baseball player, he was also an all-league performer, going 12-6 with an ERA right around 2.00 his last two years, as a starter. Struck out 13.45 batters per nine innings his senior year.
- Finished high-school with a 3.4 GPA, and Orange County scholar-athlete honors.
- Supposely turned down several opportunities to play quarterback at other Pac-10 schools.
- Was drafted by the Orioles in the 24th round out of high school, but didn't sign, instead electing to attend UCLA.
- Excelled in a relief role his freshman year, posting a 1.82 ERA out of the bullpen. Missed the last two months of the season with shoulder issues, and then red-shirted as a sophmore due to shoulder surgery.
- Assumed the Bruins closer role as a junior (redshirt-sophmore) in 2010, and blossomed, recording a 6-1 record and 1.90 ERA in 39 games.
- Those 39 appearances (UCLA played only 52 games) tied the UCLA single-season record; that record had stood for 38 years (since 1972). His 10 saves were the 2nd highest total in UCLA history.
- The Bruins (48-14) made it to the College World Series in 2010, losing to South Carolina in the 11th inning of the championship game, where Klein gave up the game winning hit, and took his only loss of the season. He threw a season-high 3.1 innings in the game, and allowed only the one hit.
- For the season, Klein picked up Ping 2nd-team All American honors.
- He was selected in the 3rd round of the 2010 MLB draft (85th overall) by the Orioles, and signed with the team for a bonus of $499,000.
- Klein had more leverage than most draftees, given his redshirt-sophmore status. He could have gone back to school and possibly increased his draft position significantly, which negatively impacted the Orioles negotiating position. In an interview with ESPN Los Angeles's Blair Angulo in late July, he wasn't sure, but seemed to want to go pro:
- ESPN's Keith Law ranked Klein #7 on his list of 2010 draftees who are likely to reach the big leagues quickly, due to a combinaton of talent and opportunity.
- Made a late-season pro debut with short-season Aberdeen (Low-A), and posted spectacular numbers (albeit a very small sample size), allowing no runs and only one hit in six innings (five games), while walking zero and striking out 10.
- After the season, he was selected as the Orioles #5 overall prospect by both Baseball America and FanGraphs, and #3 overall by John Sickels at Minor League Ball.
- You can view the MLB.com video scouting report on Klein here, with the details below:
Fastball movement: He's got good sink and cutdown in the zone.
Slider: It's a hard, short slider with late bite and tilt, thrown 82-85 mph.
Curve: Has an average curve with a downward roller movement; throws it 77-78 mph.
Changeup: Has a very good feel for his change, which has a splitter-type action to it, around 83 mph.
Control: He throws plenty of strikes and generally hits his spots well.
Poise: Shows good composure on the mound and competes well.
Physical Description: Klein is tall with a good pitcher's body. He's got a strong and lean lower half and has room to add strength.
Medical Update: Klein red-shirted his true sophomore season in 2009 because of shoulder surgery, but he appears fully healthy now.
Strengths: The chance to have three, maybe even four, usable pitches with good command. Good pitcher's body, with excellent makeup. Very competitive on the mound. Has excelled as a closer and could be quick to the big leagues as a reliever, but also might have the repertoire to start.
Weaknesses: Injury history will concern some; he might be limited to a middle relief role when all is said and done.
Summary: After missing all of 2009 because of shoulder surgery, Klein wasn't really on radar screens. That changed in a hurry as he emerged as one of the better college closers in the country. He can throw four pitches for strikes, leading some to think he should get a chance to start at the next level. Even if that doesn't pan out, teams know they will have a competitive pitcher who can excel in a relief role and move quickly through a system. If teams feel he's fully healthy -- and he appears to be -- that's the type of arm that usually gets drafted fairly early.
UCLA coach John Savage, when asked about Klein early on in the 2010 season:
"It’s impressive that Klein is the best athlete on the team. He was a high school quarterback and had some very good scholarship offers to play football. He also was drafted out of high school. He had an OK freshman campaign and got hurt after that. He is just a guy that throws four pitches for strikes. But he is very competitive and just has a presence about him. He has a lot of confidence. He just seems to control the environment as good as a pitcher possibly can. He has a lot of characteristics as a legitimate closer. He holds runners, he is good off the mound and has an inner confidence that is hard to teach."
Video of Klein giving up the championship-winning hit to South Carolina OF Whitt Merrifield (who was drafted in the 9th round by the Royals), in the 2010 College World Series:
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