ST. PETERSBURG -- You know that Jac Caglianone is performing like one of the best hitters in baseball right now.
But he’s not the only second-year, homegrown Royal who looks like a burgeoning star.
Catcher Carter Jensen continued his hot streak with a key RBI single during Kansas City’s 2-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday.
His line-drive knock off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in the fifth inning provided the Royals’ second run and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. During this stretch, the 22-year-old Jensen is batting .365 with a 1.070 OPS.
When the streak began back on June 6, Jensen had elevated strikeout and whiff rates (30.2% and 32.6%, respectively). Since then, those numbers have plummeted to 15.5% and 18.4%. Meanwhile, Jensen’s hard-hit rate, which was 40.2% prior to the streak, was at 54.8% entering Monday’s game. And it went up when Jensen smashed a cutter from Rasmussen back up the middle at 109.2 mph to drive in Nick Loftin.
Jensen, the Royals’ third-round pick in the 2021 Draft, was also behind the plate for seven brilliant innings from veteran starter Michael Wacha. The former Ray allowed only one run and one walk while striking out five, effectively outdueling Rasmussen, who came into the game with the second-lowest ERA in the American League (2.59).