To begin the 2021 season,Melendez was assigned to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Double-A Central.[12] 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.[13] After slashing .285/.372/.628 with 28 home runs and 65 RBI over 79 games,he was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Triple-A East in early August.[14][15] Over 44 games with Omaha,Melendez slashed .293/.413/.620 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI.[16] 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.[17][18]
On November 19,2021,the Royals added Melendez to their 40-man roster,protecting him from the Rule 5 draft.[19] He returned to Omaha to begin the 2022 season.[20]
Melendez batting in 2023
On May 2,2022,Melendez was a designated hitter 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.[21] On May 17,Melendez hit his first career home run during a game against the Chicago White Sox off of Tanner Banks.[22] On July 4,Melendez had his first career multi-homer game,launching home runs off of Jake Odorizzi and Phil Maton of the Houston Astros.[23] He made 129 appearances for the team during his rookie campaign,batting .217/.313/.393 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI.[24]
Melendez made 148 appearances for the Royals during the 2023 season,slashing .235/.316/.398 with 16 home runs,56 RBI,and six stolen bases.[25] He played in 135 contests for Kansas City in 2024,hitting .206/.273/.400 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI.[26]
Melendez played in 23 games for Kansas City during the 2025 campaign,going 5-for-60 (.083) with one home run,one RBI,and three stolen bases. On November 21,2025,he was non-tendered by the Royals and became a free agent.[27]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
