What to Expect from Royals Catcher Carter Jensen

To say that Jensen has impressive power would be an understatement. The 22-year-old showed the ability to hit the ball hard, go with it, and go to the opposite field. Five of his 14 Triple-A home runs went the other way.

There is some swing-and-miss in his game, as one would expect from a power hitter.

Now, to get back to his plate discipline, Jensen drew a ton of walks in the Minors. Not only in the lower Minors but also in the upper levels, as well. The 22-year-old walked 30 times in 43 games with the Storm Chasers and doesn’t expand the zone (20.4% Chase%) that much.

In his final month before the promotion, Jensen destroyed Triple-A pitching. The catching prospect slashed .343/.476/.746 (1.222 OPS) with six home runs (tied for fifth in IL) and 14 extra-base hits across 20 games.

Defensively, Jensen did have his passed balls and errors. Across 77 games at the plate this season, he made 10 errors and allowed seven passed balls. However, Jensen was able to gun down runners efficiently.

Back in Columbia three years ago, he posted a 29.8% CS%. That’s trickled down as he’s moved up. Still, he threw out 21% of runners in the Minors this season.

The Royals posted on social media that Carter Jensen will be promoted on September 1.

Analysis

When the Royals traded away Freddy Fermin at the deadline, the move allowed Kansas City to pick up two controllable pitchers in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. And realistically, it was a trade the Royals were easily able to afford.

Jensen can prove to be a very valuable asset from the onset. His power is legitimate, and his ability to get on base should be welcome for a team that’s looked for more offensive firepower over the last weeks and months, dating back to last winter.

Additionally, it gives the Royals more leeway to protect Salvador Perez. After mixing Perez in at first and DH to keep his bat in the lineup this month, the captain of the team spent the vast majority of his time behind the plate in August. Out of the 26 games he played in August, he played at the catcher spot in all but five.

Juxtapose that to May, when Perez caught in 10 of 24 games played that month.