Why the Kansas City Royals remain bullish on new full-time outfielder MJ Melendez

MJ Melendez doesn’t stray far from his catcher’s equipment.

He keeps it around for emergency situations. After all, he came up as a catcher with the Kansas City Royals organization.

“You never know what can happen,” Melendez said. “I have the (catcher’s) stuff, just in case.”

Melendez, 25, was once viewed as a top prospect at the position. Baseball America listed him as the top defensive catcher in the Royals’ system. In 2018, he backed up those claims by throwing out 42% of attempted base stealers in the South Atlantic League.

The Royals promoted him through their minor-league system. And Melendez performed well at each stop, once leading the minors with 41 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A.

Melendez made his Major League Baseball debut in 2022. The Royals utilized his versatility as he split time catching and playing in the field.

Last season, he gradually traded his chest protector for an outfielder’s glove ... with mixed results.

Melendez made 123 starts in the outfield. He recorded 244 putouts and 11 assists but committed eight errors. He posted a -14 DRS (defensive runs saved) as an outfielder, per Fangraphs. Fielding Bible defines DRS as how many runs a player saved, or cost, his team in the field.

“Last year I was trying to be the best outfielder as I could,” Melendez said. “Obviously, I know I could’ve done much better. I’m looking to improve every year. I am trying to do everything I can to improve in the outfield for my reads, through my routes and reaction times.”

This offseason, Melendez has been shifted to a full-time outfield role. He is expected to start in left field after the Royals signed Hunter Renfroe in free agency.

Renfroe, 32, has spent the majority of his career in right field. KC also signed utilityman Garrett Hampson and former All-Star Adam Frazier. They, too, are potential options, as are Nelson Velasquez, Drew Waters and Dairon Blanco.

Melendez aims to become a better outfielder. He put in a lot of training to excel at the position. Royals manager Matt Quatraro commended him for his consistent work earlier this spring.

“He’s motivated to be good,” Quatraro said. “We know he hasn’t had a lot of reps out there. So it’s important for him to continue to work, and he knows that as well.

“He’s a good athlete and he is working on his running form, his speed, and all those things are going to benefit him.”

A disciplined approach

Melendez got an early jump toward improving his outfield defense. In late November he spent time honing his read-and-reaction time in the gym.

Melendez went through several directional drills. The exercises were aimed at polishing his first step and creating a smoother route to the baseball. In the gym, he stood on a platform and followed the chosen direction of the drill.

Later, Melendez took to the field. He charted baseballs off the bat to determine their flight paths. His goal was to set his feet and shift his weight toward the baseball.

“On the field, it was taking balls off the bat and just trying to get reads as quick as possible,” Melendez said. “Not really being afraid to mess up because I feel that’s how you get better. You are going to have those reps where you kind of go the wrong way too quickly and make the wrong read. I feel like that helped me learn.”

Next, Melendez worked on his route-running. He wanted to take better angles once the baseball was in the air. The Royals helped him study different batters and pinpoint where to be aligned defensively.

The Royals have an organizational philosophy: “Depth Before Direction.” Melendez worked with Royals first base coach Damon Hollins to integrate that philosophy into his offseason work.

“If I’m playing left field and the ball is hit over my head, I need to go straight back on the ball,” Hollins explained. “Balls in the gap, I need to have the proper footwork to get back, create those angles and create the route efficiency.”

Hollins thinks Melendez is making the proper adjustments. While the transition to the outfield is ongoing, Hollins has noticed a difference this spring.

“It’s a tough transition, but he wants to do it,” Hollins said. “We are working on the reaction stuff and working on everything.”

Melendez also worked on simply catching the baseball. His father, Meryvl Sr., hit tennis balls off a tennis racket to simulate the different spins a baseball might take in the air.

Melendez would catch the tennis ball with his bare hand. The exercise mimicked how the baseball would land in his glove. It also helped him visualize the full scope of the baseball’s aerodynamics from first contact to the glove.

“You have to focus a little bit more,” he said, “as you don’t have the glove on.”

Springing forward

Melendez has taken another step in spring training.

The Royals have brought several instructors to camp to help their big-league roster. Melendez worked on his running form with former U.S. Olympian and Kansas City, Kansas native Maurice Greene.

He also received instruction from former MLB All-Star Reggie Sanders. The 17-year veteran played two seasons with the Royals.

“He’s worked extremely hard building up his legs in his body,” Sanders said. “He’s definitely there in that capacity. I think now it’s just getting the reps. (It’s) making sure, when he is in practice, getting those challenging balls in BP and hopefully that will transition to the game. But, it’s just all about reps.”

Melendez has appeared in five spring training games so far. He remains committed to his outfield development and knows it will take time.

On Sunday, he hit a two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds at Surprise Stadium.

“It’s really about being consistent and having a positive attitude every day,” he said.

The Royals will continue to evaluate their group of outfielders, but Melendez was impressive during the second half of the 2023 season. He hit .272 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs in his last 49 games.

Melendez said he found his rhythm during that stretch. He hopes to replicate that success ahead of the upcoming campaign.

His next step forward could help the Royals rebound from a franchise-worst 106 losses last season.

“There is a lot to like about MJ,” Quatraro said. “He has huge offensive potential. We saw last year, you know, he hits the ball extremely hard. He can drive the ball to all fields. His at-bats got much more consistent in the second half of the year.

“As far as his work in the outfield, he’s still improving. He is a good athlete. So we feel like there is room for growth there.”

Melendez still holds a key role with the Royals. And there’s a renewed confidence in his game now.

“I feel like I’ve shown flashes of what I can do but haven’t been as consistent as I wanted to be ...” Melendez said. “So my goal is to maintain that confidence.”