Kyle

Karros

Karros is making his case to become the Rockies’ third baseman by opening the spring 7-for-15 with two homers. He disappointed with how little power his showed last season, totaling six homers in 75 games in the minors and one in 43 major league games, and he bulked up over the winter as a result. His game is pretty well-rounded otherwise, so if keeps hitting homers on occasion, he could be a useful regular.

Karros singled all three times. The 23-year-old wasn’t very good in his first taste of MLB action with a .585 OPS, but he’s going to get a chance to win a job with the rebuilding Rockies. At best, he’s a long-term play from a fantasy perspective.

With any luck, he’ll make better picks than the likes of Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer. DePodesta will want to leave paths for Kyle Karros, Adael Amador, Ryan Ritter, Zac Veen, Yanquiel Fernández and Sterlin Thompson to contribute next season, but he might want most of them in Triple-A initially. That could mean adding two infielders and one outfielder.

Karros got the Rockies on the board and tied the score at one run apiece with a sacrifice fly off of Caden Dana in the second inning. He went down on strikes in each of his other two plate appearances in the ballgame. It has been tough sledding for the 23-year-old in his first exposure to big league pitching, slashing just .225/.296/.283 with one homer, eight RBI and a 35/11 K/BB ratio over his first 135 plate appearances.

Karros is back at the hot corner and batting fifth on Friday night following a two-game absence due to back tightness. The 23-year-old rookie hit his first career homer earlier this week and is batting .270 (10-for-37) with five RBI in 12 games since arriving in the big leagues earlier this month.

Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters Karros is dealing with back tightness, which has kept him out for two straight contests. The 23-year-old rookie hit his first career homer earlier this week and is batting .270 (10-for-37) with five RBI in 12 games since arriving in the big leagues earlier this month. It’ll be Orlando Arica at the hot corner in his absence.

Karros took Emmet Sheehan deep for a two-run blast in the sixth inning for his first career home run. The 23-year-old third baseman has been playing every day at the hot corner since his promotion from Triple-A earlier this month, where he displayed solid contact skills without much power or speed, hitting six homers with seven steals over 315 plate appearances.

It was a nice game for the rookie, who continues to show tremendous plate discipline and the ability to make consistent contact. He worked a crucial walk to lead off the ninth inning and took some really tough pitches against closer JoJo Romero before Hunter Goodman crushed a go-ahead two-run home run. Karros is emerging as a solid corner infield option in deeper formats.

Karros has been bumped up in Colorado’s lineup after going 2-for-6 with an RBI and a pair of walks during his first two contests at the big-league level. The 23-year-old was never considered one of the top fantasy prospects in the Rockies’ system since he doesn’t boast big-time power or significant stolen base upside. However, he’ll have a chance to play regularly down the home stretch. There’s some appeal here in NL-only formats, but he’s not exactly a mixed-league target at the moment.

Karros got the Rockies on the board with his run-scoring knock off of Zac Gallen in the second inning, pulling the Rockies to within two runs at 3-1. That would be as close as they would get. He also drew a walk in the contest, reaching base safely in two of his three plate appearances. The 23-year-old slugger could have some fantasy appeal in deeper mixed leagues if he’s able to carve out a regular role in the Rockies’ lineup.