TL Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Kansas City Promotes Prospect MJ Melendez to Triple-A Omaha

August 9, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - The Kansas City Royals have announced today - Monday, August 9th - that prospect MJ Melendez has been promoted to Triple-A Omaha from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Melendez, 22, was a second-round selection in the 2017 draft by the Royals out of Westminster Christian School in Miami, Florida. Prior to his promotion, the catcher was hitting .285 (85-for-298) while leading all Double-A players in home runs (28), RBI (65), slugging percentage (.628), OPS (.999), extra-base hits (46), and total bases (187). The 28 home runs rank second in all of Minor League Baseball, trailing only Miami Marlins' prospect Griffin Conine (29). He ranked third in all of Minors in extra-base hits and total bases as well, while his slugging percentage and OPS both ranked within the Top-10 for Full Season MiLB hitters. The 28 home runs rank as the third-most ever in a single season by a Naturals hitter.

Melendez was recently named the Double-A Central Player of the Month for July after hitting .333 (36-for-108) with 12 home runs and 29 RBI. He set a Naturals monthly record for home runs and runs scored (28) while tying the single-month record with 80 total bases. In addition to his monthly honor, he was awarded the Double-A Central Player of the Week three times in a four-week span: June 28th through July 4th; July 12th through July 18th; and July 19th through July 25th.

The Naturals are the Double-A Central Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including tickets, group events and more, visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



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