Royals 26-Year-Old Projected For Long-Awaited Breakout Thanks To 'Reworked Approach'
There are a few things the Kansas City Royals feel they can count on this season. They'll need something extra, though, to achieve their long-term goals.
Bobby Witt Jr. should be fantastic at shortstop. Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo should anchor a deep rotation. And Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino should be RBI machines. To take things to the next level, though, some of the side contributors will have to step up.
One player from whom the Royals could sorely use some improvements in 2025 is outfielder MJ Melendez. Once the second-best prospect in the organization behind Witt, Melendez has been a disappointment in three big-league seasons so far, with his worst year yet coming in 2024.
After simplifying his swing mechanics this offseason, Melendez is hoping to finally solidify himself as a cornerstone for the Royals in 2025. The pressure is on, too, because Kansas City wasn't able to land a proven corner-outfield slugger despite their best efforts this offseason.
On Wednesday, Joel Wagler of Yardbarker predicted something all Royals fans would love to see--a 2025 breakout season for Melendez, helping to lengthen Kansas City's lineup.
"Expectations were high that he (Melendez) could get on base in the majors and hit for power," Wagler wrote. "That has not been the case. He has 51 homers in three seasons and a paltry .303 OBP. Things were horrible in 2024 when he produced an OBP of just .273.
"He's reworked his approach and stance at the plate this offseason. He will use those changes to turn his career around, be a viable, productive left fielder for the Royals and help lengthen their batting order."
Melendez is 26 now, and he's only under team control for another three seasons. If he can't become at least an average big-league hitter this season, it seems more likely than not that Kansas City will replace him, perhaps as soon as the trade deadline.
If Melendez can give the Royals a .750 OPS and 20 home runs, though? They'll suddenly be a much scarier lineup to face top-to-bottom, cementing them as playoff mainstays. And as bad as some of Melendez's numbers have been, he's really just a small adjustment away from making that happen.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org