MJ Melendez
25-Year-Old
2024 Stats
AVG
.172
HR
5
RBI
13
R
14
SB
2
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
At best, you could say Melendez stagnated from his first to second season. At worst, you could say he slipped a bit, as a drop in OPS+ from 99 to 95 and a rise in strikeout rate from 24.5 percent to 28.2 percent can attest. If you're looking for a silver lining, it's that Melendez still hit the ball very hard when he made contact, boasting an average exit velocity in the 96th percentile and a barrel rate in the 75th percentile. He's also a flyball hitter and a pull hitter, things that, when combined with his quality of contact, make it curious as to how his home run total dropped. There could still be some untapped potential with Melendez, and he did finish with an .861 OPS and eight homers over the final two months. The team and ballpark context are poor, though, and he's losing catcher eligibility. Read Past Outlooks
Lifts homer in loss
Melendez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Twins.
ANALYSIS
Melendez's fourth-inning blast gave the Royals a 4-0 lead before things turned south for them in the middle innings. May has been a rough month for Melendez, who has gone 12-for-69 (.174) with six extra-base hits over 23 contests in the month. His previous homer was April 19, and he now has five long balls on the year to go with 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, two stolen bases and a poor .176/.238/.346 slash line through 50 games. Melendez is in a strong-side platoon role, though Garrett Hampson has started to get more looks versus righties amid Melendez's lengthy slump.
Melendez's fourth-inning blast gave the Royals a 4-0 lead before things turned south for them in the middle innings. May has been a rough month for Melendez, who has gone 12-for-69 (.174) with six extra-base hits over 23 contests in the month. His previous homer was April 19, and he now has five long balls on the year to go with 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, two stolen bases and a poor .176/.238/.346 slash line through 50 games. Melendez is in a strong-side platoon role, though Garrett Hampson has started to get more looks versus righties amid Melendez's lengthy slump.
Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
Minor League Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
22
3
18
2
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
+4%
OPS vs RHP
2024
+71%
OPS vs RHP
OPS | PA | HR | RBI | AVG | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .671 | 301 | 7 | 33 | .245 | ||||
Since 2022vs Right | .697 | 1011 | 32 | 98 | .210 | ||||
2024vs Left | .360 | 31 | 0 | 2 | .167 | ||||
2024vs Right | .617 | 145 | 5 | 11 | .173 | ||||
2023vs Left | .597 | 144 | 3 | 17 | .222 | ||||
2023vs Right | .751 | 458 | 13 | 39 | .239 | ||||
2022vs Left | .839 | 126 | 4 | 14 | .295 | ||||
2022vs Right | .664 | 408 | 14 | 48 | .193 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
+19%
OPS at Home
2024
+146%
OPS at Home
OPS | PA | HR | RBI | AVG | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | .748 | 684 | 25 | 87 | .242 | ||||
Since 2022Away | .629 | 628 | 14 | 44 | .193 | ||||
2024Home | .777 | 97 | 4 | 12 | .244 | ||||
2024Away | .316 | 79 | 1 | 1 | .082 | ||||
2023Home | .756 | 317 | 10 | 34 | .253 | ||||
2023Away | .667 | 285 | 6 | 22 | .215 | ||||
2022Home | .727 | 270 | 11 | 41 | .229 | ||||
2022Away | .684 | 264 | 7 | 21 | .205 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does MJ Melendez compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
BB/K
0.26BB Rate
6.8%K Rate
26.7%BABIP
.207ISO
.166AVG
.172OBP
.233SLG
.337OPS
.570wOBA
.250Exit Velocity
90.6 mphHard Hit Rate
34.5%Barrels/PA
6.8%Expected BA
.243Expected SLG
.434Sprint Speed
24.3 ft/secGround Ball %
39.7%Line Drive %
19.0%Fly Ball %
41.4%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring MJ Melendez See More
Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners has moved up and down the batting order, and Ryan Boyer breaks down how he's doing as well as all the American League teams in this week's Lineup Lowdown.
Yordan Alvarez and the Houston Astros get to take aim at all right-handers next week, and Todd Zola delivers his Weekly Hitter Rankings with some teams having favorable matchups on their upcoming schedule.
While it was a relatively quiet FAAB week, Jeff Erickson's big move was to trade Spencer Strider in the RotoWire Staff Keeper League.
The potent Atlanta Braves lineup has underperformed thus far in May, but with seven games this week Todd Zola projects them to break out in his Weekly Hitter Rankings.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Punishing baseballs
Melendez leads the league with an average exit velocity of 96.2 mph.
ANALYSIS
Melendez is slashing just .178/.282/.342 through 90 plate appearances, but when he's making contact he's among the most dangerous young hitters in baseball. Melendez supplied 18 homers last season and is an intriguing buy-low in deeper leagues and keeper formats.
Melendez is slashing just .178/.282/.342 through 90 plate appearances, but when he's making contact he's among the most dangerous young hitters in baseball. Melendez supplied 18 homers last season and is an intriguing buy-low in deeper leagues and keeper formats.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2019
Melendez gets a passing grade, offensively. As a 23-year-old rookie, he popped 18 home runs and drew 66 walks in 534 plate appearances, putting him roughly league average by wRC+. It's defensively where the questions come up. Melendez struggled behind the plate both defensively (-18 DRS) and with pitch framing. Salvador Perez is still locked in as the near-everyday catcher when healthy, so Melendez will likely see most of his time in the outfield to begin 2023. He's not a finished product with the bat, but the 2021 minor-league home run leader clears the bar in two-catcher leagues. The defensive questions leave open some playing-time downside, but the rebuilding Royals would be wise to live with his limitations and hand Melendez 500-plus PA again to evaluate his progress against big-league pitching.
More Fantasy News
Getting breather
Melendez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
ANALYSIS
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Not starting again
Melendez is not in the lineup for Friday's game against Tampa Bay.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting against southpaw
Melendez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
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Resting Sunday against southpaw
Melendez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
ANALYSIS
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Resting against lefty
Melendez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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