The window for MLB promotion has never been more open for this Royals top prospect

After Jac Caglianone stole the show for the first portion of the 2025 season, it didn’t take long for the Royals to find the next top prospect to have major league dreams about.

Catcher Carter Jensen, the Royals No. 2 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has had himself a statement season in the upper minors this year. After slashing .292/.360/.420 with six homers, 37 RBI and a 119 wRC+, he earned himself a move to Triple-A.

And since becoming an Omaha Storm Chaser, he’s only managed to get better. In 34 games in Triple-A, Jensen is slashing .270/.378/.623 with 11 homers, 30 RBI and a 130 wRC+.

His numbers are certainly ones that paint a picture of a productive hitter who’s well deserving of a chance to prove himself at the next level, but there are several external factors at play here as well that only further reinforce that now’s a great time to have the discussion of whether it’s time to promote Jensen.

MLB promotion window has never been more open for Carter Jensen

As mentioned before, Jensen is doing everything in his power to prove he’s ready to make his big league debut, especially of late. He’s gone 7-for-17 in his last five games, homering three times and driving in six. This includes belting longballs in his past two consecutive games.

But beyond his stellar form at the plate, there seems to be a lot of factors that are making it a lot easier to imagine a world where Jensen is donning a Royals jersey before this season comes to a close.

The first and most important thing is the fact the Royals catching siutation has been less than ideal this month. Salvador Perez went from a blistering 1.098 OPS and 197 wRC+ with nine homers in July, to a .630 OPS and 67 wRC+ in 66 plate appearances so far in August. And while Luke Maile looks like he has strong numbers on the surface – with a 130 wRC+ for the season – he’s only managed to go 2-for-13 in his last four appearances.

Now with Freddy Fermin gone, the catching position looks as weak at the major league level as it has all season and in need of a jolt of life.

Neither current backstops are getting any younger, Perez has spent seemingly more and more time at first base and in the DH spot over the years and Maile is more of depth level catcher at the end of the day. The opportunity for regular catching appearances are certainly there if the Royals deem Jensen major league ready.

Then, from a logistical standpoint, the Royals are now up to two open 40-man roster spots following Monday’s move to designate Mark Canha for assignment, making it a seamless process to add someone.

It could be a bigger risk to call up someone like Jensen than it was a name like Caglianone, as Jensen does have some kinks to work out like his strikeout rate (31.9% in Triple-A) as well as the fact he’s still developing defensively as a catcher.

That being said, there’s no denying the impact he’s made at the plate and how easy it is to make the argument he’s accomplished nearly everything, if not everything, that he would need to a the minor league level.

Promoting Jensen may not have been the plan at the start of the season, but with each passing day the stars look more aligned on the idea that he might in fact be major league ready.