Top 100 prospect Jensen spearheads no-hitter from behind the dish

There are a lot of moments on a career bucket list for a catcher. High up on it is calling a no-hitter.

Five years and 383 games into his pro career, Carter Jensen can officially check that off. And it's a testament to how much he's grown behind the plate.

The Royals' No. 3 prospect helped spearhead a combined no-no on Tuesday in Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 3-0 win over San Antonio at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Fellow prospects Ryan Ramsey, Chazz Martinez, Ryan Brady and Brandon Johnson combined to strike out 10 while walking two and hitting three.

Jensen entered the game with a fairly traditional gameplan -- allow his batterymates to pitch to their strengths, be cautious of what they throw in certain counts, focus in on several key hitters. It may sound simple, but the 21-year-old has developed into one of the best catching prospects in baseball because he's learned how to do the little things and get the most out of his teammates.

For Ramsey: Pounding the zone with all three of his pitches allows him to work unpredictably.
For Martinez: His improving fastball enables him to pitch his slider and changeup with confidence.
For Brady: Pump him up to throw hard and use his nasty stuff to pick up whiffs.
For Johnson: Start off at-bats with a slider or changeup in the zone, then the fastball can do its thing.

"As a catcher, game calling is one of the most important things that comes with the position," Jensen said. "It can be tough sometimes because you don't really know the pitchers as much, but the biggest thing is just creating a relationship, having conversations. Even if one of them's not pitching that night, just going over before the game and talking to them and saying, 'Hey, I really want to learn some more about your stuff. I want to learn what you like to do in certain counts against certain hitters.' Having conversations and building relationships to gain their trust, so when the game comes, it's just easy and everything flows."

Jensen now ranks as MLB's No. 82 prospect, but he wasn't always so advanced behind the plate. When Kansas City drafted him 78th overall in 2021 out of Park Hill (Mo.) HS, he had far more confidence in his bat.

Working with catching coordinator J.C. Bosc¨¢n, special assistant to the GM Chino Cadahia and manager Brooks Conrad (who he's playing under for the third season at a new level) has been key to him reaching his lofty ceiling.

"Becoming a good professional catcher has been a long road. There was a lot of stuff I needed to learn," Jensen said. "Just learning a lot and being able to talk with people about things I can do to be better behind the plate, even if it's something that's not fundamental like pitch calling and stuff like that. I was definitely more advanced hitting-wise when I was first drafted, but now I feel like I'm just becoming an all-around player that I've always wanted to be."

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Jensen felt his game planning reach another level in 2024, but his consistency is at a new high in '25. Returning to big league camp in Spring Training, he got to work with Major Leaguers like Kris Bubic, which confirmed that his pitch calling has become another advanced tool in his arsenal.

Jensen is ready to bring his renewed confidence every game the rest of the season. After all, he'd like to call many more no-hitters with Northwest Arkansas this season and one day soon in the Majors as well.