The son of Eric Karros, who won the 1992 National League Rookie of the Year Award with the Dodgers and spent 14 seasons in the big leagues, Jared followed his father's path and attended UCLA. But he pitched just 41 innings in three years with Bruins, losing most of 2020 to the pandemic shutdown and then coming down with back issues that cost him much of 2021 and all of 2022. After Los Angeles took a 16th-round flier on him, he has returned to health and become one of the best strike throwers in the system.
Though Karros' fastball sits at 91-93 mph and maxes out at 96, it plays better than its velocity because his 6-foot-7 frame creates an unusually high release and premium extension. He has good feel for moving his heater around and then fooling hitters with a plus low-80s changeup that he leverages down in the zone. He gets good depth on a solid low-80s slider that's much more effective than his upper-70s curveball.
Despite his size and inexperience, Karros repeats his simple delivery well and provides plenty of strikes. His ability to command and mix his pitches allows him to get the most out of his unremarkable arsenal. He's on the road to becoming a possible No. 4 starter.
