Mervyl Samuel Melendez Jr. (born November 29, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Melendez attended St. James School in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

for three years before transferring to Westminster Christian School in

Palmetto Bay, Florida Palmetto Bay is a suburban incorporated village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Palmetto Bay includes two neighborhoods that were former census-designated places, Cutler and East Perrine. The village is part of the Miami metropo ...

for his senior year. He was a member of the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in 2016. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

. After his senior year, the

selected him in the second round, 52nd overall, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He signed with Kansas City for $2.1 million.

Professional career

After signing with the Royals, Melendez made his professional debut with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Arizona League Royals where he posted a .262 batting average with four home runs and thirty RBIs over 47 games. He spent 2018 with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, slashing .251/.322/.492 with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs in 111 games, earning All-Star honors. Melendez spent 2019 with the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

and was named an All-Star. Over 110 games, he slashed .163/.260/.311 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

of the

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. 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. After slashing .285/.372/.628 with 28 home runs and 65 RBIs over 79 games, he was promoted to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (M ...

in early August. Over 44 games with Omaha, he slashed .293/.413/.620 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs. 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 The Joe Bauman Home Run Award, formerly known as the Round-Tripper-Award, is given to the Minor League Baseball player who hit the most regular season home runs that year. The award, first given in 2002, is named after Joe Bauman, who set a then ...

. On November 19, 2021, the Royals selected Melendez's contract and added him to the 40-man roster. He returned to Omaha to begin the 2022 season. On May 2, 2022, Melendez was a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for Omaha. In the game, he was on second base and tagged up to third on a line drive by his teammates to right. His manager came up to him and describes to him that he didn't want to tell him this way. He was called up to the majors that day. On May 17, Melendez hit his first career home run during a game versus the

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Rate Fie ...

off of lefty pitcher Tanner Banks. On July 4, Melendez had his first career multi-homer game, launching home runs off of

Jake Odorizzi Jacob Todd Odorizzi (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, and ...

and Phil Maton of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Personal life

Melendez's father, Mervyl Melendez, is a

coach. In 2022, he was among ten Royals unable to travel to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to play the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

due to being unvaccinated against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, as public health policies of the

Canadian government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...

at the time prohibited unvaccinated non-citizens from entering the country.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, MJ 1998 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball players from Daytona Beach, Florida Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball outfielders Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players 2023 World Baseball Classic players