End Could Be Near For Royals 26-Year-Old After Dismal Start To Triple-A Demotion
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The Kansas City Royals were hoping the 2025 season would be a transformational one for outfielder MJ Melendez. Instead, he could be playing his way out of the organization.
Melendez was the number-two prospect in the Royals organization entering the 2022 season, right behind now-All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. But he's never lived up to his immense potential at the plate, and in actuality, he's gotten a little bit worse every season.
After some mechanical changes to his swing this offseason, 2025 was shaping up to be a make-or-break year for Melendez as a Royal. The levee broke awfully early, as he slumped so badly through the team's first three weeks that he was demoted to Triple-A for the first time since his debut.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro tried to put a positive spin on the demotion at the time, saying it was a chance for the 26-year-old to get right, and that the organization still had high hopes he could be an impact player. If the start to his time with Triple-A Omaha is any indication, though, those hopes could soon be dashed completely.
Melendez has only played six games in Omaha, but they've gone about as poorly as six games could. He's 2-for-24 (.083 AVG) with two walks, a double, and 10 strikeouts. That's a .279 OPS, which is somehow worse than the .343 mark he was putting up in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, Melendez's quasi-replacement, outfielder Drew Waters, has played well in his fifth opportunity at the big-league level. Waters has an .801 OPS and 0.5 bWAR (second on the team behind Witt) in 15 games.
It's getting to be crunch time for Melendez. If he can't figure out his offensive struggles soon, he could be out of chances at the major league level, especially in Kansas City. The Royals expect to be a playoff contender, and their outfield has been their biggest Achilles' heel.
They can't afford to keep waiting on Melendez to hold up his end of the bargain.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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