KC Royals Trades: 3 high-value prospects club can afford to deal

Catcher Carter Jensen is someone the Royals can consider trading

Hard to criticize is Kansas City's decision to pick Carter Jensen in the third round of the 2021 amateur draft. He was then and still is a skilled catcher with a good bat and, coming from Kansas City area Park Hill High School, he was familiar locally and a potential gate draw.

What he's done since confirms the Royals drafted well when they grabbed him. Although he's hitting only .223 over three minor league seasons, he boasts an excellent .361 OBP, a nice number driven by a good 18.5% walk rate. He's also clubbed 11 home runs in each of the last two seasons. MLB Pipeline says he's the seventh-best prospect in the Kansas City system, and Kings of Kauffman's Jacob Milham ranks him as the top catching prospect in the organization.

So, why should general manager J.J. Picollo consider trading Jensen? It's simple, really — the Royals sorely need pitchers, both starters and relievers, and because organizational pitching depth is so shallow, they'll probably have to look outside the system for immediate improvement. Jensen could help them get it, especially because with Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin ahead of him, and Pipeline's No. 1-ranked KC prospect Blake Mitchell behind him, he might be expendable.

Picollo, of course, shouldn't trade him for equal, or even slightly better, talent, but if it's a blockbuster deal he's looking for, including Jensen in the package may be required.

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