KANSAS CITY ROYALS
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced today that catcher Carter Jensen and right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for March/April. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Jensen slashed .256/.340/.478 (23-for-90) in 29 games from Opening Day through the end of April and ranked among American League rookie leaders last month in home runs (6, 2nd), RBI (16, 3rd), slugging percentage (.478, 4th), OPS (.818, 4th) and walks (11, 5th). His 6 home runs in March/April ranked 3rd among AL catchers, behind Shea Langeliers (8) and Cal Raleigh (7).
He became the second rookie catcher in the Integration Era (since 1947) to hit at least 6 home runs through the end of April, joining Atlanta’s Javy López (6) in 1994. He was just the second Royals rookie with 6 or more homers in March/April, following Bob Hamelin (6) during his 1994 AL Rookie of the Year campaign. Jensen hit safely in 7 of his final 10 games of the month, which included a career-high-tying 6-game hit streak from April 18-25.
Jensen’s 0.6 fWAR through the first month of the year ranked 4th best among American League rookies, behind Kevin McGonigle (1.6), Munetaka Murakami (1.1) and Chase DeLauter (0.8). This is his first career monthly honor, and he is the first Royals rookie position player to receive the award since Vinnie Pasquantino in September 2022.
Lugo finished the first month of the season with a 1-1 record and 2.63 ERA (11 ER in 37.2 IP) in 6 starts, which marked the 9th-best ERA in the American League during that span. This included a 0.69 ERA (1 ER in 13.0 IP) in 2 starts away from Kauffman Stadium in March/April, tied for the 4th-lowest road ERA in the Majors (min. 2 road starts), behind only Shohei Ohtani (0.00), Parker Messick (0.00) and Landen Roupp (0.50).
He worked 37.2 innings in March/April, averaging 6.1 innings per start, which was tied for 3rd best in the Majors, behind Max Fried and Sandy Alcántara (6.2 innings each). He is one of two pitchers in MLB to have thrown 37.0 or more innings in March/April in each of the last three seasons, joining Logan Webb.
Lugo became the first Royals pitcher to toss at least 6.1 innings in 5 of his 1st 6 starts to begin a season since Jason Vargas (5) in 2014, while he is the first Kansas City right hander to turn the trick since Zack Greinke (5) in 2008. He allowed only 1 home run in 6 starts in March/April, tied for the 2nd fewest in the Majors (min. 6 starts), behind Dylan Cease (0). This is Lugo’s fifth career Royals Pitcher of the Month Award, which ranks 8th all-time since the award was established in 1995.