The Kansas City Royals youth movement is in full swing, and MJ Melendez is currently leading the charge.
The versatile rookie had six RBIs in the Royals’ 13-5 victory against the Boston Red Sox in the series finale Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.
“I’m just being relaxed,” Melendez said. “I’m going up there with a lot of confidence. And just telling myself that when I’m at the plate, it definitely helps me from overthinking.”
Melendez batted leadoff and went 2 for 3 with a home run, hitting a towering two-run blast in the fifth inning off Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford. The homer marked Melendez’s 13th of the season and he has homered in three of his past four games.
But the rookie isn’t swinging for the fences. He’s focusing on staying up the middle of the field when he enters the batter’s box.
“It means I’m right on point,” Melendez said when he goes up the middle. “I feel like I’m a good hitter and the power is going to come whenever I’m barreling up balls and the pitcher provides the power. So for me, I just try to look to get a base hit. That’s me right there with men in scoring position, just being able to put the ball in play.
“I’m a hitter who can get on base, put the ball in play. So my goal is to get on base every time and get a good pitch to hit. And if I don’t get that, just take my base and walk.”
While Melendez has 38 walks on the season, the Royals brought him up to the big leagues to swing the bat. Last year, Melendez led the minors in home runs with 41, and he’s been on a charge lately, hitting .297 this season since the All-Star break.
“He’s got a gift of finding the barrel,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “And when he finds the barrel, it looks different than what most people are able to do.”
And behind the plate, Melendez helped guide starter Brad Keller through six innings of one-run ball.
“He did a nice job behind the plate, too, carrying the weight back there and working with Brad very well,” Matheny said. “And it was a warm one, and to be able to do that from behind the plate and still have that kind of offensive production today is impressive.”
With the win, the Royals took the series three games to one and they’ve climbed out of the AL Central cellar.
“I think this is confirming what we already thought,” Melendez said. “I knew that we could do this and it’s just a matter of time, getting comfortable, putting good at-bats together, having good timing with the at-bats and the pitching on the same days.
“I think some days we’ve had really good pitching and maybe not the hitting, and also the opposite. So I think we’re just putting it all together, and that’s something that’s going to be really fun to watch.”
