When the Royals first kicked around the idea of Carter Jensen leading off, it sounded like a temporary experiment. Nearly a year later, it has turned into one of the more unusual success stories in Kansas City’s lineup.
Jensen, who entered the season as the Royals’ No. 2 prospect, had barely any experience in the spot when the club gave him a shot. Two and a half weeks into his big league career, he answered by doubling twice off Max Scherzer and helping ignite a seven-run first inning in a 20-1 win over Toronto.
Matt Quatraro left him there the next day. Jensen went 0-for-4, and that was the end of that for the rest of the season.
In 2026, though, the Royals came back to the idea - and stuck with it.
“He’s pretty mature for a young player mentally,” Quatraro said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Astros. “His skillset with knowledge of the strike zone, ability to use the whole field, the power, obviously, we knew was there as well.”
Jensen has backed that up in his first full season. He’s slashing .232/.319/.452 with 73 RBIs, and his plate discipline has stood out: a 24.1% chase rate that ranked in the 85th percentile entering Wednesday, an 11% walk rate that ranked in the 74th percentile, and 4.11 pitches seen per plate appearance, the most on the Royals.
The leadoff production has been even better. Since the All-Star break, Jensen has posted an .848 OPS at the top of the order.
"I love it," Jensen said of the leadoff spot. "Love being able to go out there and set the tone for my guys every day. It's not an easy role, and it's something I had to adjust to, but I love it and I feel like I've adjusted pretty well."
Tuesday’s start in Houston was Jensen’s 72nd as a leadoff hitter, tying him with Maikel Garcia in 2023 for the second-most leadoff starts by a rookie in Royals history. David DeJesus holds the top mark with 83 in 2004, and with 11 games left, that figure may be out of reach.
What makes Jensen different from DeJesus, Garcia and most leadoff hitters in general is where he plays. He’s a catcher, which puts him in a class almost entirely by himself. Only one player has started more games in a season both behind the plate and in the leadoff spot than Jensen’s 58: Jason Kendall, who did it 119 times in 2004 for the Pirates, 75 times in 2005 for the A’s and 90 times in 2006 for the A’s.
Kendall fit the classic leadoff profile, though. Across those three seasons, he hit four home runs. In more than 2,000 career games, he finished with 75 homers.
That is not Jensen’s game. The 23-year-old swings like a 210-pound catcher, as starter Randy Dobnak recently put it: “He’s swinging the [expletive] out of it.”
Eighteen of Jensen’s 24 home runs have come while he’s batting first for Kansas City, matching the most in a season in franchise history. Johnny Damon did it in 1998, and Alex Gordon matched it in 2011. Jensen’s 32 doubles are already second-most in a season by a Royals catcher, behind Salvador Perez’s 35 in 2025, and fourth-most by a Royals rookie.
His fifth-inning RBI double Tuesday in Houston was his 58th extra-base hit, setting a new franchise record for a rookie. One more homer would give him that mark, too.
He’s been especially dangerous in the opening at-bat of games. Jensen is hitting .262 (17-for-65) with an .887 OPS in his first plate appearance, a figure that ranks sixth in baseball among players with at least 60 plate appearances. His six leadoff home runs are already the most in a season in Royals history, and they’ve put him sixth on the club’s career list in that category despite the fact that everyone ahead of him needed at least 261 more games to get there.
And for a leadoff hitter, he’s getting on base at the right rate. Jensen owns a .319 on-base percentage, which trails only two Salvador Perez seasons among Royals catchers.
That’s the number Quatraro said matters most as the Royals keep Jensen in front of Bobby Witt Jr.
“He’s been good,” Quatraro said. “There’s times, just like any other player, he goes through his ups and downs where he doesn’t control the strike zone quite as much. But when he does, he’s really good at it.”
In Other News...
Royals Fans Just Got Another Reminder About The Kris Bubic Trade
Kris Bubics path back to the big leagues has been a little longer than anyone in Los Angeles probably hoped, but the Dodgers finally moved him onto the active roster this week after his minor league rehab work. To clear space, they sent right-hander Paul Gervase back to Triple-A Oklahoma City and removed first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward from the 40-man roster, a reminder that roster churn never really stops for a contender.
For Royals fans, Bubics latest step is another small checkpoint in a trade that still lingers in the background months later. He arrived from Kansas City on Aug. 3 and has logged six minor league games with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, keeping the focus on what his return might eventually mean for Los Angeles and what Kansas City gave up to get the deal done. [Read more 🡒]
Carter Jensen Is Forcing A Royals Rookie History Debate
Carter Jensens emergence has sparked a fresh conversation around what counts as a meaningful rookie season in Royals history, especially when the discussion is focused strictly on first-year production instead of long-term reputation. That framing matters for Kansas City, because it puts Bobby Witt Jr. and a familiar group of debut standouts in the same lane as names like Mike Fiore, Eric Hosmer, Lou Piniella, Mike Avils, Angel Berroa and Bob Hamelin, all of whom made their mark quickly enough to earn a place in the franchises rookie lore.
The debate is not just about raw numbers, either. It is about impact, timing and how much weight to give a player who arrives and immediately changes the conversation around the lineup. Jensens run has added another layer to that old Royals argument, and for a fan base that still remembers those early bursts from past rookies, the question is whether his start belongs in that same historical tier or just nudges it a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
Royals May Have Finally Found A Starter They Can Trust
Daniel Lynch gave the Royals exactly what they have been searching for in the middle of a long season, a start that let Kansas City settle in and play from ahead. He worked five scoreless innings against Houston, allowed only two hits and a walk, and matched the kind of efficiency the club has struggled to get from the rotation, while the offense backed him immediately with John Raves two-run homer and enough late insurance to keep the game in hand.
The 5-2 win then turned into one of those nights the Royals have been hoping to stack more often, with the bullpen taking over and holding the line behind Craig Kimbrel, Bryan King, Enyel De Los Santos and Nate Pearson. Lynchs outing did not solve every question about the rotation, but it at least gave Kansas City a reason to think it may have found a starter it can trust to shorten games instead of forcing the relief corps into damage control. [Read more 🡒]