Will Klein

William Boone Klein

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 230 lb.
• School Eastern Illinois University
• High School Bloomington North High School
• Debut April 28, 2024

• Born November 28, 1999 in Bloomington, IN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Will Klein was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 5th round of the truncated 2020 amateur draft, out of Eastern Illinois University. He was only 3-4 in three seasons at EIU, the last of these cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he had established himself as a prospect to watch in the Northwoods League in 2019, when he posted an ERA of 0.86 in 16 games while recording 7 saves for the Lakeshore Chinooks.

He made his professional debut in 2021 with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the High-A Central, as the Midwest League was called that season following the Minor League Reorganization, going 7-1, 3.20 in 36 games as a reliever. He saved 4 games and had a whopping 121 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings to be named a Royals organizational All-Star. In 2022, he had a rougher go with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the AA Texas League, going 1-1, 10.51 in 30 games. He completely lost his control, walking 51 batters in 43 2/3 innings, in addition to 55 hits, while recording 55 strikeouts. He bounced back in 2023, however, going 0-2, 3.38 in 21 games for the Naturals, and 1-3, 5.66 in another 28 games for the Omaha Storm Chasers of the International League. His K/W ratio showed marked improvement over the previous season ending up at 93/39 in 64 1/3 innings. He was named to participate in the 2023 Futures Game.

He started the 2024 season in AAA with Omaha and had not given up a run in 11 innings over 9 outings when he got the call to Kansas City at the end of April. He made his debut on April 28th when he pitched a scoreless inning in relief against the Detroit Tigers, striking out two batters.

Related Sites

• Will Klein on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Eastern Illinois bio