Mets Prospect - RP - Stephen Clyne

Stephen Clyne P R R 6-2 205 9-22-84 Clemson University

Over 2 seasons at Clemson, Clyne had a 3-1 record with a 3.06 ERA in 35 relief appearances. He’s allowed only one home run in his entire college career. 56 Ks/16 BBs (3.5 K/BB ratio).

His head coach at Clemson, Jack Leggett said: "Stephen (Clyne) is a senior righthanded pitcher who's been around for a while. He has a strong arm and a good slider. He just needs to develop that consistency so we know what we can count on from him. He has improved a great deal from last year, and I think he can make a significant contribution to the success of this team if he continues to work hard."

From a pre-draft scouting report: Clyne began experiencing arm trouble when he was still in high school, and in an effort to avoid surgery, elected to redshirt his freshman season in 2003. His arm never got back to normal, and he had Tommy John surgery, costing him all of 2004. It wasn't until last fall that he began to show the stuff that made him a coveted recruit. As a fifth-year senior, Clyne would create bidding interest among multiple teams if Clemson's season ended after the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, but the Tigers were a lock to go to regional play, so Clyne will hope to make his money in the draft. He's shown the stuff to warrant a third- to fifth-round selection, with two hard pitches and the profile of a setup man or middle reliever in the big leagues. Clyne's fastball sits between 91-94 mph with plus sink at times, and his slider can be filthy, registering anywhere from 80-84 mph on radar guns. He has limited feel for his changeup, and Clyne has a tendency to pitch tentatively, and doesn't always seem to have conviction in his stuff. He's around the zone, with solid-average command.

Clyne was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft by the Mets. He was signed and placed on the 2007 Brooklyn Cyclones squad. Clyne had an outstanding freshman pro season, going 1-1, 2.05, 1.52, 8 saves, in 20 appearances with Brooklyn.

In late January 2007, Baseball America ranked Clyne as the 13th overall Mets prospect, adding:

"Mets see Clyne as a setup man..."

In February 2008, Baseball Prospectus awarded him a 2-star prospect rating and ranked Clyne the 11th overall Mets prospect.

Also in February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Clyne as the #11 Mets prospect.

Clyne pitched for Brooklyn and St. Lucie in 2008, combining for 3-5, 4.77 in 44 appearances.

In September 2008, Patrick Hickey wrote on:

Stephen Clyne- The guy has a great assortment of pitches, a great makeup and had very solid numbers in Brooklyn. However, numbers can be somewhat deceiving, as he lost most of his closing duties to Yury Santana by the end of the season. Work on his mechanics can solve some of his control problems [13 walks in 22.1 innings] and with all the natural talent the guy has, I still expect him to project as a major league reliever in the next few years. - Final Grade- B

In October 2008, Toby Hyde wrote:

Clyne was the third college reliever the Mets picked in 2007, behind Eddie Kunz and Brant Rustich. Like Carr, Clyne was promoted directly from Brooklyn to St. Lucie, and like Carr, struggled early. Clyne gave up 25 runs in his first 20 innings in St. Lucie. However, he turned a corner in June yielding just five runs in his next 18 innings before being sent down to Brooklyn to help out the Cyclones. Clyne is a potentially very good middle reliever. His fastball was 91-93 and scouts saw his slider as a potentially plus pitch. I wrote about Clyne making a mechanical adjustment here. Likely ’09 Start: A+, although with a strong spring, AA is not out of the question