Jensen wrapping up one-of-a-kind season leading off

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. MLB.com reporter/producer Josh Kirshenbaum wrote this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The idea first came about nearly exactly a year ago: Have Carter Jensen, then the Royals’ No. 2 prospect, lead off. Two and a half weeks into his big league career, Jensen -- who had led off just three times in the Minors -- responded to the challenge by doubling not once but twice off of Max Scherzer, sparking a seven-run first inning in a 20-1 rout over Toronto.

It worked so well that manager Matt Quatraro kept Jensen in the same spot the next day. He went 0-for-4, and didn’t lead off again the rest of the season.

OK, so it was a work in progress. But the Royals stuck with their rookie catcher filling an unorthodox role in 2026, and it’s paid dividends.

“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 showed all of that in his first full season, slashing .232/.319/.452 with 73 RBIs. Entering Wednesday, his 24.1% chase rate ranked in the 85th percentile of hitters, and his 11% walk rate ranked in the 74th percentile, while his 4.11 pitches seen per plate appearance led the Royals.

But his numbers atop the order have been even better, with an .848 OPS since the All-Star break.

"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."

The 23-year-old has already taken over the leadoff spot in the order like few Royals rookies ever have. Tuesday’s start in Houston was his 72nd atop the lineup, tying him with Maikel Garcia in 2023 for the second-most leadoff starts by a rookie in franchise history. David DeJesus is first on the leaderboard with 83 in 2004, a number that might be slightly too high for Jensen to reach with 11 games to go.

It’s the catching that sets Jensen apart from DeJesus and Garcia, though -- along with nearly every other regular leadoff hitter in MLB history.

In fact, only one player has started more games in a season both behind the plate and leading off than Jensen’s 58 -- Jason Kendall, who did so 119 times in 2004 for the Pirates, 75 times in ‘05 for the A’s and 90 times for the A’s in ‘06.

But Kendall fit more of the traditional mold for a leadoff hitter. In those three seasons, he totaled four home runs. In more than 2,000 career games, he went deep just 75 times.

That’s not Jensen’s game. The 23-year-old hits more like you’d expect a 210-pound catcher to. Or, as starter Randy Dobnak recently said, “He’s swinging the [expletive] out of it.”

Eighteen of Jensen’s 24 home runs this season have come as Kansas City’s leadoff hitter. That’s already tied for the most in a season in franchise history, with Johnny Damon (1998) and Alex Gordon (2011). Meanwhile, his 32 doubles are both second most in a season by a Kansas City catcher (behind Salvador Perez’s 35 in 2025) and fourth most by a Royals rookie.

Jensen’s fifth-inning RBI double Tuesday in Houston was his 58th extra-base hit, setting the new franchise high for a rookie. One more homer will give him that mark, as well.

Particularly notable is the damage Jensen’s been able to do leading off games. In the first at-bat of the game, he’s hitting .262 (17-for-65) with an .887 OPS that ranks sixth in baseball (min. 60 plate appearances). His six leadoff home runs aren’t just the most in a season in franchise history; they’re already enough to tie him for sixth on the Royals’ career leaderboard -- and the five hitters in front of him all had at least 261 more games on their ledger.

He’s no slouch at the primary leadoff job of getting on base, with a .319 on-base percentage that trails only two seasons from Perez among KC catchers.

That’s the quality Quatraro said he’s most looking at with regards to Jensen keeping his leadoff role which, in the Royals’ lineup, is all about getting on for Bobby Witt Jr. hitting behind him.

“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.”