Jared Karros is a Right handed pitcher in the Dodgers organization that was simply destined to become a Dodger. He grew up with it, he grew into it, now he’s growing inside of it as one of the best pitching prospects in the organization.

Karros had a crazy good 2023 where he started at Single A Rancho Cucamonga and finished at High A Great Lakes.  He didn’t allow a run in his last 3 regular season appearances, and allowed just 2 earned runs in his last 29 innings of regular season work. He struck out 30 hitters in that span and walked just 4, so, like I said,  he was crazy good.

Quite possibly, the most exciting aspect of the way he finished 2023 is that his success can likely be traced back to the fact that he is finally healthy and, for the first time since 2019, had a full year of health. 

While at UCLA and during his Sophomore season in 2021, Karros hurt his back, an injury that forced him to sit out all of the next season in 2022. So, when you combine the lost year of 2020 due to Covid, then factor in his injury in 2021, his completely lost year in 2022, this past season, 2023, was the first time he had full runway, with no obstacles, and, wow, did he ever take off.

As the season wore on, he got better and better, which suggests that all he needed was consistent mound time, and over an extended period to show that he can dominate, even at the professional level. 

But, before we get into all of that, let’s back up a little bit.

Elite Mentors

Karros has had the great fortune of learning underneath elite mentors. Of course we all know that his dad, Eric, was the Rookie of the Year in 1992 and has a lifetime of MLB experience, and is a very popular Dodger. In fact, he is still a part of the Broadcasting team for the Dodgers, so he has the highest level of experience both with this game and with the Dodgers organization. So, it would stand to reason that Jared, while growing up playing Ping Pong with Stars like Matt Kemp, was left with with no chance other than to love baseball and the Dodgers. And, that happened, the both of them!

There are times where my dad will step in and say what’s on his mind, but then there’s other times where he waits for me to reach out. It was definitely awesome having a dad that played for the Dodgers. 

We’d go down to Spring Training, and kind of my favorite thing was just being around the guys was pretty special. My one specific memory that always comes to mind was playing Ping Pong against Matt Kemp, that was pretty special. 

But, that’s not where it stops.

His High School coach, Keith Ramsey, also played 11 years professionally after a Collegiate career at the University of Florida, and he played at UCLA for John Savage, who is widely revered as one of the best pitching minds in College Baseball. So he has, undoubtedly, been blessed with elite mentors that have played a huge part in his journey.

I’ve been very fortunate to have Coach Ramsey as my High School Coach. Just with the baseball and pitching he was great, but, also, outside of baseball he was a great mentor. He was someone I could look up to and ask for advice, and he’s always been someone who has been in my corner, so I was very fortunate to have him.

Bruin Bound

Karros chose UCLA for obvious reasons, Coach Savage is a great pitching mind, and UCLA is a Karros family tradition. It’s the place in which both his dad and brother played and, in fact, he got to play with his brother Kyle at 3rd base in 2021. As innings would start, it was his brother who handed him the ball before every inning as he would greet him at the mound from his 3rd base position.

All the while, while his family sat in the stands and watched.

In fact, it is rumored that watching Jared and Kyle play is a much more nerve racking process than playing, even in the MLB, ever was for Eric.

When asked about that, Karros smiled, and had this to say

Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard is that, sitting in the stands and not having any say as to what happens, that made him nervous when we played.

Kyle, his brother, was drafted in the 5th Round of last summers draft, so baseball runs through the veins of the Karros family.

When asked why he chose UCLA, Karros mentioned the great education he knew he would be getting and that it was close by. 

Obviously it was close and my dad went there, so all that played a factor, but, also, the education was a big part too. I’m actually taking classes right now to finish my degree, so that has always been important. Just the proximity and how good the baseball program has been, and their development of pitchers, and all of that factored in for me.

Karros continued about how cool it was to get to play with his brother Kyle at UCLA

Being able to play with my brother was pretty awesome. With him being at 3rd base he was the one that tossed me the ball every inning, and that was a really cool deal to have. So, it was a very good experience for me. 

Back Injury

Amidst having a great year in 2021 for UCLA, Karros noticed that his body wasn’t recovering from his starts like it should. He went to the doctor and found out that he had a back injury that was going to keep him out for a while. That was a tough blow considering that his team was so good and that he had such a good situation going at UCLA.

 I was coming off my best start in 2021, and I just didn’t recover like I should have. I went and saw a doctor and realized I was going to be out for some time, so that was pretty tough not getting to take the field with my teammates. I had worked so hard to get to that point, and to have it taken away was a pretty tough pill to swallow. But, I definitely learned a lot through the process and I think I grew a lot as a person just grinding every day to get back to it.

Another Karros in Blue

Jared was drafted in the 16th Round of the 2022 draft after a season in which he did not pitch at all due to a back injury. Karros also didn’t pitch much until his Junior year of High School, so he was being drafted with quite a bit less of a resume as most others with his acumen would likely have in his position. Having a full Collegiate Season of health and getting to play another season with his brother at UCLA was very attractive, and the 16th Round isn’t an automatic yes, so he did have a decision to make. 

But, with the Dodgers being the team that drafted him, it made the decision much easier.

I contemplated it a little bit just because I didn’t know what things were going to look like going forward. I wanted to pitch at UCLA, but ultimately, I felt like going Pro was going to be the best decision for my career. Then, to be able to go to the Dodgers that is such a great organization, and the way they take care of and develop their players made it a pretty easy decision.

Prospect Feature

Karros is just now “Spreading His Wings”, if you will, in the sense that 2023, as previously mentioned, was the first full year of health for him since his Senior year of High School. And, again, he didn’t start pitching much until his Junior year in High School, so he came to the Dodgers with a fairly clean slate, a fresh arm and tons and tons of room to grow. 

And, that’s what happened last year.

I was definitely very excited to get started last year. I just trusted my abilities and all of the work I put into it. I knew I’d be in a pretty good spot to succeed as long as I stayed on the field and gave myself a chance. That was probably the biggest thing for me. 

Karros is 6’7, and sits 92-94, but his length gives him a perceived velocity that is much higher than other pitchers that are not as tall or lengthy. Pitchers that are longer have better “extension”, which means they deliver the ball closer to home plate, which gives hitters less time to react. As a result, not all velocities are created equally or have the same effect.

Here’s what Karros had to say about where his “Pitch Mix” is at right now.

I throw 4 pitches, and I feel confident moving by fastball and attacking hitters with all 4 pitches. I’d say my main thing is living off of my fastball and being able to move it around the plate. 

Ever wondered why some guys can throw close to 100, but it seems like they can’t ever miss a barrel, while others, with less velo, seem to blow hitters away?

Extension, that’s why!

Pitchers that deliver the ball closer to home plate, despite the velo, have a built in advantage, because their delivery gives hitters less reaction time. 

So, just his length, again, 6’7, gives Karros a huge advantage, because 6’7 pitchers with his kind of control, composure and skill don’t fall off of Turnip trucks.

4 Seam Fastball:  Here’s a good look at this 4 Seam fastball. He loves to use the backspin of the pitch to get a lot of swing and miss up in the zone, and he is also very good at hitting the 4 slot, which is to the “glove side” corner. Notice how easy the ball comes out of his hand and how quickly the ball seems to get on hitters. His fastball is super deceptive because it looks so effortless, but then it’s released right on top of the hitter.  Click the picture on the left to watch Karros throw his 4 Seam fastball.

Changeup: The length of Karros also gives his change up a very nice tumbling effect. The pitch gives the effect that he is “pulling the string” because it’s as if the ball puts on the brakes about 3/4 of the way to the plate and starts tumbling. Click the picture on the right to watch his changeup in action.

Slider: Karros has a very good slider, and it’s effective against both right handers and lefties. He can shape it differently based on the count and whether he needs it to land or to produce swing or miss. Also, the “bullet” type shape that you can see on a couple sliders in the video on the left works well against lefties, because it stays above their typical swing path.

Sometimes a right handed slider, thrown to a left handed swing, matches the plane of that swing almost perfectly because they have a tendency to uppercut, even if it’s slightly. So, removing depth, and making the movement a little tighter and a touch flatter can work better against lefties who swing with a natural uppercut. 

Curveball: Karros is very good at burying curveballs when ahead in the count. His curveball has a big 12-6 tendency, and coming from 6’7 frame, makes it feel like it’s falling from the sky. It has so much vertical drop to it, that, on video, it’s very difficult to separate from his change up. He doesn’t throw his curveball as much as he does his slider or changeup, so, when he does throw it, it has massive effect on the hitter.

If he controls this pitch, and is able to be effective with 4 pitches of different shapes sizes and velos, the sky is the limit. Click the picture on the right to watch him throw his curveball.

Just Getting Started

Jared is just getting started and is super excited about the opportunity he has been given. He obviously bleeds Blue, but, even more than that, he just loves the game, loves competing and is one of the best “grinders” in the game. 

It was super fun watching him develop last year to the point that he was one of the best pitchers in the Midwest League, so can’t wait to see what 2024 brings. 

In closing I would like to thank Jared for joining Dodgers Daily. He is in the midst of working out every day at Dodgers Stadium, and taking classes at UCLA, so he is super busy, so spending some time with Dodgers Daily was much appreciated. 

We’ll be rooting for him all the way from his detour through Oklahoma and on his way back to L.A.

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