TL Northwest Arkansas Naturals

MJ Melendez Named Double-A Central Player of the Week

Published on July 5, 2021 under Texas League (TL)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Minor League Baseball announced the Pitcher and Player of the Week honors for each of the respective Player Development Leagues and Naturals' catcher MJ Melendez was named the Double-A Central Player of the Week honor for his performance the week of June 28th through July 4th. Melendez is the team's first position player to claim the award this season and third player to receive a weekly award, after Alec Marsh was recognized as Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 4th through May 9th and Marcelo Martinez won the honor for his performance the week of May 31st through June 6th.

The Miami, Florida native hit .400 (12-for-30) during his award-winning week, leading the league with 12 hits and 19 total bases, while tied for the league lead with four doubles, finishing second with nine runs batted in. He also produced a 1.090 OPS, the highest among Double-A Central players with at least 25 plate appearances over the last seven days. Melendez walked four times and hit a home run on July 2nd, his league-best 14th of the season in the Naturals' 14-1 win over Springfield.

It is the 33rd time in franchise-history that a Naturals' player has won the Player of the Week award, the last being Meibrys Viloria for the week of June 3, 2019.

Adrian Martinez of the San Antonio Missions (Double-A, San Diego Padres) was the Double-A Central's Pitcher of the Week after going 1-0, pitching six shutout and hitless innings while striking out nine in San Antonio's 3-1 win over Corpus Christi on July 2.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including ticket options, promotions, groups, visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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