Mervyl S. Melendez (born November 29, 1998) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
| MJ Melendez | |
|---|---|
Melendez with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2021 | |
| Kansas City Royals – No. 1 | |
| Catcher/Outfielder | |
| Born: (1998-11-29) November 29, 1998 (age 23) Daytona Beach, Florida | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 3, 2022, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
| Batting average | .217 |
| Home runs | 18 |
| Runs batted in | 62 |
| Teams | |
| |
Melendez attended St. James School in Montgomery, Alabama for three years before transferring to Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida for his senior year. He was a member of the United States national team in 2016.[1] He committed to play college baseball at Florida International University.[2] After his senior year, the Kansas City Royals selected him in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He signed with Kansas City for $2.1 million.[4]
After signing with the Royals, Melendez made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona League Royals where he posted a .262 batting average with four home runs and thirty RBIs over 47 games.[5] He spent 2018 with the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League, slashing .251/.322/.492 with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs in 111 games,[6] earning All-Star honors.[7] Melendez spent 2019 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and was named an All-Star.[8][9] Over 110 games, he slashed .163/.260/.311 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs.[10] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Double-A Central.[11] He earned Double-A Central Player of the Month honors for July after batting .333 with 12 home runs over the course of the month.[12] After slashing .285/.372/.628 with 28 home runs and 65 RBIs over 79 games, he was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Triple-A East in early August.[13][14] Over 44 games with Omaha, he slashed .293/.413/.620 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs.[15] His total of 41 home runs for the season led the minor leagues, and he became the first ever catcher to win the Joe Bauman Home Run Award.[16][17]
On November 19, 2021, the Royal selected Melendez's contract and added him to the 40-man roster.[18] He returned to Omaha to begin the 2022 season.[19]
On May 2, 2022, the Royals promoted Melendez to the major leagues.[20]
Melendez's father, Mervyl Melendez, is a college baseball coach.[21] In 2022, he was among ten Royals unable to travel to Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, as public health policies of the Canadian government prohibit unvaccinated non-citizens from entering the country (mirroring a Biden administration policy barring unvaccinated foreign nationals from entering the United States).[22]
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