Ivan Melendez Ankle Injury Ends His AA Season

The slugging first baseman is expected to play in the Arizona Fall League.

The Arizona Diamondbacks #8 prospect, Ivan Melendez, will miss the rest of the Double-A season due to an injury. According to D-backs Director of Player Development Josh Barfield, Melendez has been out with what he described as mild left ankle tendonitis. While Arizona Fall League rosters have yet to be formally announced, it's been assumed that Melendez would be invited to join the roster. There is good news, as Barfield indicated that Melendez would be ready for the Arizona Fall League. 

The second-round pick from 2022 has had a strong season as he started the year in High-A with the Hillsboro Hops. Over 58 games there, he hit .270/.352/.593 with 18 home runs, 17 doubles, a triple, 43 RBI, four stolen bases, 21 walks, and an abysmal 86 strikeouts. His strikeout rate was 33.5% in his 256 plate appearances. That's just not going to cut it as he climbs the minor league system. Luckily, there's plenty of time as he's just 23 years old and can use the Fall League to figure out these issues. And, as you can tell from the extra-base hit numbers, he has eye-popping power. His power is likely the best in the entire D-backs prospect system.

He was better in Double-A with the Amarillo Sod Poodles. He hit .275/.335/.556/.891 with five doubles, a triple, 12 home runs, 33 RBI, 10 walks, and 60 strikeouts in 170 plate appearances. While the strikeouts continued to be an issue with a 35.29% rate, he did make more contact. It's unfortunate that Ivan Melendez will miss the last 13 games of the regular season. He hasn't played since September 2nd and the season ends for Amarillo on September 17th.

It will be interesting to see where Ivan Melendez ends up playing in the field in the future. He split his time between first and third base this year. In Hillsboro, he played 26 games at first base and 33 games at third base. At Amarillo, the Texas native played just 10 games at first base, four games at DH, and 24 games at third base. This could be an indication that the D-backs prospect has a future home at third. Although, he had just a .933 fielding percentage there over 210.1 innings. That's compared to his stronger .984 fielding percentage over 89.1 innings at first base.

It will be intriguing to see where the Diamondbacks have him play in the Arizona Fall League. Oftentimes, teams can designate a player to strictly play just one position. He still has a very bright future despite the injury. However, it's very encouraging that it's just a minor issue. Plus, it will be exciting to see him play at Salt River Fields in October. His playing in the Arizona Fall League could catapult him into being the next wave of prospects to reach the Arizona Diamondbacks come next August/September similar to Jordan Lawlar.