03/02/2008 8:10 PM ET
McClellan opens eyes in spring debut
Cards, scouts, fans alike marvel at Missouri native's progress
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Kyle McClellan split time last year at Class A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield. (Jerry Hale/MiLB.com)
<!--sphereit start-->JUPITER, Fla. -- First, Kyle McClellan caught the eyes of the prospect hounds with a big year in relief in 2007. Then McClellan drew the notice of Cardinals coaches, as he threw strike after strike at four different speeds during the early weeks of camp. Now, even scouts are taking notice of the right-hander.
Late in Sunday afternoon's Cardinals-Marlins Grapefruit League game, a scout trekked up to the press box of Roger Dean Stadium with one purpose -- to find out just who the heck this kid was. Why did he only pitch 59 2/3 innings last year? What was the injury that sidelined him? Told that the Cardinals like the kid a lot, the scout didn't hesitate. "I can see why," the scout said. "I like him too."
So that makes it pretty much unanimous: coaches, scouts, even the hometown fans -- because McClellan is a local boy trying to make good. He hails from Florissant, Mo., just north of St. Louis, and attended Hazelwood West High School. For the spring, he's a teammate of Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Jason Isringhausen and Yadier Molina. The rest of the year, he's also a fan of the St. Louis stars.
"I've been a huge Cardinals fan ever since I was a little kid," McClellan said after throwing three shutout innings in his Grapefruit League debut. But I think the professional side of it takes over. It's still the game I've been playing since I was 3. The names on the back are just that; they're names. It's the same game. I have to make the same pitches. I sat in the locker room today, and I just looked at the names -- Pujols, Molina -- and I wasn't overwhelmed by it. And I'm glad about that."
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