A note on Klein from Aberdeen

If a pitcher can look good in a non-game situation, I'm told that O's third-round pick Dan Klein did this afternoon at Aberdeen. Klein threw a live batting practice session today. His fastball was in the low 90's (yes we have a BP velocity report) and he touched 95 once. The off-speed stuff showed some good movement as well. I wonder if he threw a knuckle-curve, because he has one. Gil Kubski, the O's area scout that watched Klein pitch at UCLA this year, had this scouting report on the right-hander: "He's a four-pitch guy with a knuckle-curve that will remind some of Mussina. He's got an outstanding change-up to throw with that. He throws what he calls a slider, but it's a hard curveball he throws and he can make the fastball cut it and bring it back across the plate. His command of all those pitches is above average. "To me, it's the whole package. I feel really fortunate to get a player of his potential in the third round. "He's about 78-81 with his change and curveball and then 82, 83 with his other curveball and then he's 90 to 94 with his fastball. He may not be that quick (right now) with his fastball but once he becomes a starter he will." Now that Klein has thrown two bullpen sessions and a live BP with the IronBirds, the next step should be to get him in his first pro game. That should happen any day now.