MJ Melendez
25-Year-Old
2024 Stats
AVG
.207
HR
17
RBI
44
R
43
SB
4
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
Not starting Sunday
Melendez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
Melendez is sitting Sunday for the second time in three games despite the fact right-hander Jared Jones is starting for Pittsburgh. Tommy Pham will shift to left field while Adam Frazier receives a start in right.
Melendez is sitting Sunday for the second time in three games despite the fact right-hander Jared Jones is starting for Pittsburgh. Tommy Pham will shift to left field while Adam Frazier receives a start in right.
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
5
39
25
33
2
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
5
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
+13%
OPS vs RHP
2024
+102%
OPS vs RHP
OPS | PA | HR | RBI | AVG | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .636 | 339 | 7 | 35 | .235 | ||||
Since 2022vs Right | .719 | 1222 | 44 | 127 | .217 | ||||
2024vs Left | .365 | 69 | 0 | 4 | .162 | ||||
2024vs Right | .738 | 356 | 17 | 40 | .217 | ||||
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
+11%
OPS at Home
2024
+12%
OPS at Home
OPS | PA | HR | RBI | AVG | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | .735 | 796 | 29 | 99 | .238 | ||||
Since 2022Away | .664 | 765 | 22 | 63 | .203 | ||||
2024Home | .714 | 209 | 8 | 24 | .229 | ||||
2024Away | .637 | 216 | 9 | 20 | .186 | ||||
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
0.31BB Rate
7.5%K Rate
24.2%BABIP
.236ISO
.197AVG
.207OBP
.271SLG
.404OPS
.675wOBA
.296Exit Velocity
91.1 mphHard Hit Rate
34.4%Barrels/PA
5.9%Expected BA
.246Expected SLG
.442Sprint Speed
23.9 ft/secGround Ball %
42.0%Line Drive %
17.0%Fly Ball %
41.0%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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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
Idle against RHP
Melendez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting vs. lefty
Melendez is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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Notches steal in win
Melendez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 5-0 win over the Twins.
ANALYSIS
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Idle against southpaw
Melendez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Astros.
ANALYSIS
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Productive in doubleheader
Melendez went 4-for-9 with a three-run home run across both games of Monday's doubleheader sweep over the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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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.