MJ Melendez describes ‘emotional moment’ of getting called up by Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals prospect MJ Melendez, last year’s Minor League Baseball home run leader, had just doubled in the sixth inning for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers on Sunday when he was pulled aside.
Melendez didn’t have any idea what was going on when Storm Chasers manager Scott Thorman asked him to take his sunglasses off.
“I was just very confused,” said Melendez, a former second-round draft pick and the organization’s top hitting prospect with Bobby Witt Jr. in the majors.
“He sat next to me and said, ‘This is not the way I imagined it, but you’re a big leaguer now.’ I just shook his hand and gave him a hug and a couple tears came.”
Melendez, 23, was added to the Royals’ 40-man roster this offseason. He received his first promotion to the majors following backup catcher Cam Gallagher’s hamstring injury in Sunday’s series finale against the New York Yankees.
Melendez, whose father is the head coach at Florida International University, said both his parents and his younger brother were going to be in St. Louis for his first day in the majors as the Royals played the Cardinals on Monday afternoon. His brother is currently a freshman catcher at FIU.
“It was just a very emotional moment,” Melendez said of the phone call to his family. “I think from the moment I was told by my manager and was talking to my family, I just saw a glimpse of everything leading up to this moment. Just really taking everything in and realizing that all the stuff, all the hard work I put in has finally gotten me here to this moment. I’m just really grateful for that.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-handed hitting catcher went into this season ranked as the 42nd-best prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America.
So far this season, he’d batted .167 with two home runs and six RBIs in 21 games at Triple-A.
Last season, Melendez batted .288 with a .386 on-base percentage and a .625 slugging percentage to go with 41 home runs in 123 games between Double-A (28) and Triple-A (13).
He was the first player since 2016 to hit 40 homers or more in a single minor-league season and the 14th player to do so since 1990. He also became the first primary catcher with 40 homers or more in the minors since Todd Greene hit 40 in 1995.
“Whenever we get to introduce young, talented players to the majors leagues, it’s special,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He had a really good spring. He was excited about his opportunity to maybe make the club.
“I know he was realizing he was close with the year that he had last year and just waiting for the opportunity. Unfortunately, injuries are usually the catalyst of those opportunities.”
Melendez began playing the outfield at Triple-A this season for the first time with the idea of creating more options to potentially get his bat in the lineup. He also played third base at times last season.
Asked where he feels the most comfortable playing aside from catcher, Melendez said, “Wherever the team needs me, honestly. I just love being out on that field. It’s something that, growing up as a kid, you just dream of being here, dream of being on a baseball field, playing, getting to do this for a living.”
But with the Royals having been hard-pressed to find playing time in the outfield for a group that consists of Hunter Dozier, Kyle Isbel, Edward Olivares and Ryan O’Hearn along with everyday players and Gold Glove winners Andrew Benintendi (left field) and Michael A. Taylor (center field).
Melendez’s most likely role, initially, appears as backup to seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winning catcher Salvador Perez as well as serving as a power bat off the bench.
“It’s not all scripted out,” Matheny said of getting Melendez in the lineup regularly. “We’ll just go one day at a time and let him know we’re going to use him when we believe he’s going to give us the best chance to win and just stay ready with his bat.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 12:54 PM.
