Kyle Karros reflects on his MLB debut
Karros – the son of former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman (and famed Rockies killer) Eric Karros – was drafted out of UCLA in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft and has rocketed his way through the farm system. In 2024, he smashed .311/.390/.485 with 15 homers in 123 games en route to a Northwest League MVP, Post-Season All-Star nomination, and Gold Glove with the High-A Spokane Indians.
Karros was a non-roster invitee to spring training in 2025 and was assigned to Double-A to start the season. In 55 games with the Yard Goats, Karros hit .294/.399/.462 before being promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque on July 18th. In just 16 games with the Isotopes, Karros was hitting .306/.368/.500 with four doubles, one triple and two homers. The Rockies decided they'd seen enough and called him up to the big leagues ahead of Friday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Karros had a memorable 1-for-3 night that included an RBI, a walk and a strikeout.
'I think it went well,' he said the following day.
'I think I was more comfortable than I had anticipated. Obviously, I'm talking to everyone about it and trying to pick their brains about what their debuts were like, and it all kind of just slowed down once I got out on the field and went through it, so that was super nice. And I think my biggest takeaway is that it's the same game that I've played my whole life. It's just a different uniform and more people watching, but it's just baseball at the end of the day.'
Since he was batting seventh, he was able to be on the field for a few innings before his first at-bat.
'I think [it helped], especially going through the first inning, just sitting in the dugout and watching the other guys go through at-bats,' he said.
'And then taking the field and getting my first ground ball out of the way before my at-bat was nice because your first play, your first action, is going to be a little bit nerve-wracking. So to get that one out of the way – and I even had a ball thrown to me from Jordan Beck out in left, and I kinda messed it up a little bit. It didn't cost the team anything, which was great, but to have my first interaction and get it out of the way in a time where it didn't really impact the game was great.'
The nerves did pick up a little bit during his at-bat, but you'd never know.
'I was really calm and comfortable through it all,' he said. 'Especially once I saw that first pitch, I'm like 'I've been seeing pitchers like this all my life,' so I got to settle in pretty quickly and realize that I'm just playing the game I love.'
And that comfort certainly came in handy, as Karros lined a 95.5 MPH fastball into right-center to score Warming Bernabel for both his first MLB hit and first RBI.
'I couldn't have drawn it up any better,' he said. 'I mean, credit to Bernabel for putting me in that spot and coming around and scoring. I gave him a hug in the dugout after that to thank him for my first RBI, but yeah, to get it out of the way was great. I couldn't ask for a better start.'
Karros also did some extra work before the game to help him prepare.
'I'm feeling it today, for sure,' he chuckled. 'I pre-gamed yesterday. I put myself through the ringer. I just wanted to take as many ground balls on that field, throw as many balls to first, take as many swings with that backdrop… I just wanted it all to get boring so that when I got into the game, nothing was new. I'd done it all before, so it was definitely beneficial yesterday, but I'm definitely feeling it. My legs are pretty beat up today, so I've just got to take a step back now and go about it like this is going to be my everyday job.'
But before all of that, where was Karros when he got the call?
'I was in the gym in Albuquerque, and our manager [Pedro Lopez] called me and our hitting coach [Aaron Muñoz], and they tried to spin a story at first and make it sound like something else was happening,' he said. 'But in the back of my mind, I knew I was getting the call there, so it was a pretty special moment. I got to call my dad and talk to him and my mom [Trish], so that was a pretty special moment.'
He's also heard from a lot of different folks, including his best friend Chase Meidroth, a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox organization, who made his MLB debut in April.
'He told me to turn my phone off and just take it all in,' Karros said. ''You can worry about getting back to people after the fact,' which is what I did. I wasn't really on my phone too much before the game, and then after it all kind of settled down, I started responding to some people. And then today – the late texters are the ones reaping the benefits because I've seen those ones today. A lot of them yesterday just kinda got lost. But yeah, he prepared me on what to expect and how to go about it.'
And then on the Rockies, he found a few folks to lean on.
'I was picking everyone's brain,' he said. 'Right before we were taking the field, I asked Beck if he had any nuggets for me about his debut, and he said, 'You're just gonna be, you're not gonna even remember. You're not even gonna think about it. It's just gonna be running on adrenaline all day.' And then he told me to go out and do something cool, and then to get an RBI knock in my first at-bat was super cool. Hopefully that satisfied his request. But yeah, they've all been great and super open, offering me some insight on just how to go about it because they've all done this.'
And manager Warren Schaeffer also offered him some advice.
'He told me, 'Don't worry about anything that happens. Just go out there, play hard and play free,' and I think those were great words of advice to just take all the pressure out of it,' he said. 'I can control myself playing hard and I can control myself playing free, so I tried to do that and I erred on the side of being too aggressive. I know a lot of times when you get into a stressful situation, you get tense and you get timid, and I wanted to go about it the complete opposite way.
'And it cost me!' he continued.
'I made a bad decision baserunning [in the fifth], but if I was going to fail, I wanted to go down swinging in a way. But to be aggressive and take my game to them, not play on my heels, not play timid – I wanted to go out there and attack it, and I'm happy with the way it went.'
What is Karros most looking forward to as the season enters its final stretch?
'Just settling in and realizing that this is my life now,' he said.
'I think it hasn't really hit me. I still feel like, 'Oh, this was a great experience making your debut.' I don't think it's quite set in for me that this is gonna be my every day moving forward. So just getting comfortable in that way, and getting comfortable with these guys. I find myself still talking to a ton of my minor league buddies that I came up with, and that's great. I'll have those relationships moving forward, but I think it's a priority – and it's important to me – to branch out here and make these genuine relationships here as well because this is the team I'm going to battle with every day.'
Triple-A: Express 7, Isotopes 3
The Isotopes, like their major-league counterparts, fell behind early and never quite recovered. It wasn't quite as dramatic as the Rockies, but they were still outscored 7-3. The Round Rock Express got out to an early 3-0 lead and tacked on a run in every inning through the fifth. The 'Topes scored one in the first and third, and Keston Hiura attempted to rally in the ninth with a homer, but it wasn't enough. Zac Veen (No. 4 PuRP) scored the runs in the first and third, going 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI and a run scored. Only Owen Miller, Blaine Crim and Jose Torres were held hitless, but the team went 0-for-5 with RISP. Recently-signed Xzavion Curry tossed four innings in his Isotopes debut in place of Chase Dollander, who was scratched ahead of a likely start tomorrow in St. Louis. He allowed six runs on seven hits with three walks, three strikeouts and two home runs in the rout, but Matt Turner, Connor Van Scoyoc and Luis Peralta (No. 18 PuRP) combined for four scoreless innings to finish the game (but also allowed two hits, four walks and five strikeouts).
Double-A: Yard Goats 11, Curve 4
Every single Yard Goat had a hit, except for shortstop Dyan Jorge (No. 21 PuRP). Second baseman Braylen Wimmer led the pack, going 4-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Charlie Condon (No. 2 PuRP) went 3-for-5 with a solo homer; Benny Montgomery (No. 16 PuRP) went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, two walks, three runs scored and a strikeout; and Jose Cordova went 2-for-4 with three RBI, a walk and a strikeout. Left-hander Michael Prosecky (No. 25) started for the Goats, and he tossed 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
High-A: Indians 8, Emeralds 7 (F/10)
It was a back-and-forth affair in Eugene but the Indians came out on top. They got out to an early 4-1 lead, but then allowed three runs in the fourth and fifth to go down 7-5. They scored two in the eighth to tie it up and force extras, and Tevin Tucker scored on a Blake Wright sac fly to end the game 8-7. Wright, Tucker, Cole Messina (No. 27 PuRP) and Andy Perez all recorded multiple hits. Tucker went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and Wright went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored himself.
Low-A: 66ers 4, Grizzlies 0
The Grizzlies were blanked at the hands of the Inland Empire 66ers. They went 0-for-2 with RISP, and left six total on base. Roldy Brito and Roynier Hernandez were the only two who got hits — Brito went 2-for-4 and Hernandez went 1-for-3. They also struck out 10 times. It just wasn't a good day for them.
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Thomas Harding made a visit to the Arizona Bridge League, where many of the 2025 draftees are starting their professional baseball journeys ahead of their official affiliate assignments. He spoke specifically with Ethan Holliday, the Rockies' high-profile first rounder, about how he's adjusting to pro ball and preparing for his own journey in the spotlight.
Three must-haves for Rockies, Diamondbacks to compete in Dodgers and Padres' NL West | Kevin's Take | Denver Gazette ($)
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