Kansas City Royals’ Rookie Carter Jensen Is Quickly Catching On

SURPRISE, AZ. – Carter Jensen is a hometown boy projected to replace a home team legend for the Kansas City Royals. That’s pressure personified – and multiplied when the legend is your boyhood idol Salvador Perez.

“I don’t know if there’s a player in my tenure here that has wanted to be a Kansas City Royal more than that kid,” Lonnie Goldberg told Anne Rogers of MLB.com last September. Goldberg, the Royals’ vice president of player personnel, was the ballclub’s scouting director when Jensen was drafted in 2021.

“I’ve loved to watch Salvy since I was about nine years old,” Jensen told me before participating in the 2024 Home Run Contest in the Arizona Fall League. “Watching the Royals win the World Series in 2015 was just unbelievable.”

Perez hit .364 in the five-game series over the New York Mets and was voted MVP.

“When they asked me to come to the Fall League, it was a no-brainer for me to say when do I go?” Jensen continued. “It’s a great experience. I get to work on things with a bunch of new coaches and pick their brains about all sorts of stuff.”

Manager Matt Quatraro has noticed Jensen’s boundless enthusiasm to learn.

“He’s a sponge when it comes to the game calling, the processes we have in place,” Quatraro told Rogers in December. “That’s going to be great from him to continue to learn, and from Salvy.”

Jensen made his MLB debut on September 2 and hit .300 over 20 games. He’s due for more playing time in 2026, sharing time with Perez behind the plate as the 35-year-old’s role shifts more to first base and designated hitter.

“We have high hopes for him, obviously, to be a big part of what we do, whether that’s behind the plate or offensively,” Quatraro said. “As far as playing time, I think in a perfect world (for) Salvy, I don’t know an exact number, but we need to utilize his bat as much as his catching. Hopefully to be able to keep him fresh, Carter can handle a decent workload.”

A Backstop Bonanza

The Royals also signed 35-year-old free-agent Elias Diaz, MVP of the 2023 All-Star Game, to a minor-league contract on February 20.

Getting notice in spring camp is Blake Mitchell, their No. 1 pick in 2023. His progress was was stymied by a broken hamate bone last February. He did not return until July 8, then struggled to hit. MLB.com lists the lefty hitter as the Royals’ No. 1 prospect.

Perez got $65,000 to sign at age 16 out of Venezuela. Jensen and Mitchell cashed in much more.

Jensen, 22, was selected with the seventh pick of the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft from Park Hill High School, 21 miles northwest of the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium. He got $1,097,500 to sign.

He is the 22nd of 61 players selected at No. 78 overall to play in the Majors. The best of the bunch is unquestionably Freddie Freeman of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Atlanta Braves picked the first baseman in 2007 and signed him for $409,500.

Now 36, Freeman won a World Series in 2021 with Atlanta, one year after he was the National League MVP. He was the Series’ MVP in 2024 when he hit .300 with four homers in the five-game triumph over the New York Yankees. In 2,179 regular-season games, he has 367 homers, 1,322 RBI, a .300 average and is well on his way to being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mitchell, 21, was picked eighth overall in the 2023 Draft and signed for $4,897,500. He’s seeking to become the 42nd of 60 picks at that spot to make the Majors. Heading that long list is Hall of Famer Todd Helton, who hit .316 with 369 homers and 1,406 RBI over 17 years with the Colorado Rockies.

Hometown Heroes

Some Hall of Famers were synonymous with their hometown ballclubs, playing most or all of their MLB home games there:

• Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr.
• Boston Braves: Rabbit Maranville.
• Detroit Tigers: Hal Newhouser.
• Cincinnati Reds: Barry Larkin.
• Los Angeles Dodgers: Don Drysdale.
• Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer.
• New York Yankees: Whitey Ford, Lou Gehrig, Waite Hoyt, Phil Rizzuto.

Others returned “home” to play later in their careers:

• Ken Griffey Jr: Cincinnati.
• Nolan Ryan: Houston and Texas.
• Eddie Murray: Los Angeles.
• Andre Dawson: Miami
• Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, Dave Winfield: Minnesota.
• Dennis Eckersley: Oakland.

There are others, though the ultimate double achievement is rare.

Jensen’s Future With Kansas City Royals

The Royals believe Jensen can help their 2026 outlook match the 2024 hopes that resulted in post-season action. Both the manager and general manager give him glowing praise.

“He’s a rat. He’s going to do everything in his power to be as good as he can be… you’ve gotta think sky is the limit ,” Quatraro said on a recent MLB Network show.

GM J.J. Picollo told Jim Bowden of The Athletic: “Carter is a gifted hitter who makes great decisions at the plate. Great combination of on-base (skills) and power. He’s also done an incredible job working on his defense and has become a well-rounded defensive player.”

Jensen showed that power early this spring and last September when he hit the Royals’ longest homer of 2025. His offense is ahead of his defense.

Perez has provided both for 15 years. The nine-time all-star has won five Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers. It seems only a matter of time that he adds one Bronze Plaque – at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

That’s huge shoes to fill. Jensen has been preparing to step into them for the Kansas City Royals for most of his life.