MJ

Melendez

Melendez gave the Royals a 3-2 lead with a two-run blast off Gerrit Cole into the right-field bleachers. The 25-year-old has his first postseason homer, and he’s slugging .545 in the first four games of his playoff run.

With Patrick Corbin starting for the Nationals, the Royals will sit Massey, MJ Melendez, Adam Frazier, and Kyle Isbel. This is the fourth straight game in which the Royals are facing a lefty starter. Paul DeJong will draw his first start in the last week and play third base, while Hunter Renfroe will play RF, and Garrett Hampson will play CF.

Melendez had easily his best month of the year in August, hitting .311/.363/.581, but he’s cooled considerably since, starting off 4-for-31 this month. That’s apparently why he’s sitting in favor of Robbie Grossman, Tommy Pham and Hunter Renfroe today, unless there’s an injury the team has yet to make anyone aware of.

Melendez’s shot to right off Eli Morgan was ruled a homer on the field, changed to a double when the umpires got together and then correctly turned back into a homer on a crew chief replay review. It was his third homer in five games, and his current .699 OPS is his high mark since late April.

Melendez took Johnny Cueto deep for a solo homer in the sixth inning for his only hit of the day, extending the Kansas City lead. It was the 15th home run of the season for Melendez. The 25-year-old outfielder is slashing .206/.267/.412 with 35 runs scored, and 39 RBI across 353 plate appearances.

Melendez gave the Royals their first run of the night when he hit a solo shot off Zebby Matthews in the second inning. It was the 14th homer of the season for Melendez, who entered the day hitting a blistering .400 on the month.

Melendez’ home run was his 13th of the season. He began Sunday’s game on the bench, but pinch hit in the ninth inning and hit a go-ahead three-run shot off Shelby Miller. It was Melendez’ fifth home run in his last 12 games. He’s hitting .195 with a .652 OPS and 34 RBI on the season.

Melendez ended up missing a little over two weeks with his ankle sprain. The outfielder returns with 11 homers, 29 RBi and .642 OPS in 85 games with Kansas City. There’s long-term appeal here, but a tough sell for 2024 fantasy purposes.

Melendez suffered the ailment during Sunday’s first-half finale against the Red Sox and is most likely going to wind up missing a couple weeks coming out of the All-Star break. The 25-year-old corner outfielder posted an underwhelming .642 OPs with 11 homers, 29 RBI and two steals in 85 games prior to the Midsummer Classic.

Melendez suffered the injury while beating out a potential double-play grounder Sunday against the Red Sox. It’s unclear if he’ll require a stint on the injured list, but the Royals can wait to see how he recovers during the All-Star break.