In 18 plate appearances, Jensen is hitting .125 with a .480 OPS. He has a home run, but he is also striking out 44.4% of the time and only walking 5.6% of the time. Furthermore, his wOBA is only .207, and his xwOBA is even worse at .188. For context, the Royals rookie catcher posted a .403 wOBA and .447 xwOBA in 69 plate appearances last season.
A microcosm of Jensen’s struggles this year can be seen in this plate appearance against Minnesota reliever Kody Funderburk on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium on March 30th. On a 3-2 count, Funderburk serves him up a fastball right down the middle. It’s a pitch Jensen would’ve mashed a season ago. Unfortunately, Jensen, obviously pressing, watches it for strike three.
