Jensen is a strong defensive catcher who’s always shown good feel for the strike zone as a hitter, but this year he took a big step forward at the plate, hitting .292/.360/.420 in Double A and then .288/.404/.647 in 43 games in Triple A, although his strikeout rate of 28.2 percent at the higher level was a career worst.
The Royals haven’t gotten much production from behind the plate this year, with Salvador Perez regressing back to replacement level and playing worse as the season wears on, so Jensen doesn’t have to hit that much to contribute, and as a left-handed hitter he could at least start against better right-handers to give Perez time off.