Carter Jensen’s breakout could have the Royals rookie dreaming of a Silver Slugger

The Kansas City Royals have been lucky to have one player be their primary catcher for so long. Salvador Perez has been with the Royals since he was called up in 2011 and has been the starter since 2013. Most fanbases don't get to say they've had one man behind the dish for as long as that.

Now, Salvy’s career is nearing its end, and most Royals fans likely believed they would start to have a rotating cast of characters like most teams do. Instead, Perez is still playing, and they already have their next franchise catcher looking to win awards.

Carter Jensen burst onto the scene after his call-up at the end of the 2025 season. While the overall numbers weren't great, he flashed the power that got him to the bigs. Now, he has a full season under his belt, and he should be a finalist for the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award at catcher, and he should win it.

Salvador Perez's five Silver Sluggers is the most in team history, and Carter Jensen should already be closing the gap

Jensen finished his rookie season hitting .239 with a .323 on-base percentage, .467 slugging percentage, and .790 OPS. He had 35 doubles and 27 home runs (a Royals rookie record), drove in 81, and scored 80 runs. Jensen finished with a 116 WRC+. His main competition for the award is the Tigers’ Dillon Dingler.

Dingler’s numbers are extremely close to Jensen's, but what should give the Royals backstop the true edge was his performance when he was actually the catcher, and not DH. As a catcher, Jensen had an .882 OPS and 140 WRC+.

While Jensen had about 60 fewer at-bats, he still had more extra-base hits compared to Dingler, and scored three more runs too. Dingler had a 115 WRC+ as the Tigers' primary catcher. It truly will be splitting hairs between the two catchers. Both had great offensive seasons, but Jensen’s stands above.

Only 17 players have won a Silver Slugger as a rookie, including four catchers. The last to do it was Mike Piazza in 1993. The last four seasons have seen a rookie take home a Silver Slugger; it's time to make that five.

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