ADK
MJ Melendez, OF
Edit player ✎
Baseball Reference →
FanGraphs →
MLB →
Scouting report
I want to take a long view on Melendez, who I saw get extended on fastballs away from him and hit two big opposite field homers this spring. He is going to strike out a ton, too much to be an everyday catcher at the start of his career, but because he has plus power and an unusually good body for a backstop, I think he'll hang around forever and have some seasons toward the back end of his pre-free agency years when he is among the home run leaders at his position. Until then, he's more of a bat-first backup. Melendez had a reputation as an advanced high school defender but things haven't played out that way in pro ball. He's a mediocre receiver and pitch-framer (to my eye, that is; I haven't seen his framing metrics) and he struggles to keep blocked pitches in front of him, with the ball skittering away from him like a hockey goalie who gives up bigger rebounds. Some of this stuff won't matter in a couple of years when the game moves to electronic strike zones, but some of it needs to get better, too. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)