Royals Rookie's Wake-Up Call: Jensen's Growing Pains

0:00It's April 3rd. This is MLB News Today, your AI-powered source for everything MLBing. Royals rookie catcher Carter Jensen had a nightmare start to his big league dreams, sleeping straight through his alarms before Thursday nights. Series finale against the twins at Kaufman Stadium. The 22-year-old was slated to start, but showed a blight, so manager McWattraro scratched him from the lineup right before first pitch. Salvador Perez lit over from designated hitter to cover catcher, and Jensen only got in for the ninth inning without an at-bat. Teammates kept their real-bus supportive, with slugger Vinnie Pasquantino calling it a growing moment for the kid. He pointed out how it shook up Perez's plans, too, stressing that mistakes like this can't fly in the majors, but everyone's got his back to learn and move on. Jensen, a Kansas City native drafted by the Royals in the 78th pick back in 2021, owned it fully after the fire to one loss. He's been splitting time at catcher and the H this season, building on a strong 2025

1:03with a 300 average over 20 games. Now he's valent to stack alarms like a fortress, 3, 4, even a million if needed. So this wake-up call turns into his best lesson yet, keeping him locked in for the long haul.