Royals’ MJ Melendez had ‘low lows’ after demotion. Here’s how things turned around
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- Royals recalled MJ Melendez after strong July in Triple-A, hitting .333 with 4 HRs.
- Melendez abandoned offseason swing changes, returned to old form using video study.
- Mental struggles, family support, and faith guided Melendez through demotion and return.
Sleep didn’t come easily for MJ Melendez following his demotion to the minor leagues in mid-April.
Melendez hoped an adjustment to his batting stance during the offseason would result in a turnaround from a 2024 season that saw his average drop to .206. That change had the opposite effect and Melendez was batting .085 when the Royals sent him down to Triple-A Omaha.
In his first week with the Storm Chasers, Melendez’s average was worse (.083).
“I went through some low lows, and had some sleepless nights for sure,” Melendez said Wednesday at Wrigley Field. “I stayed up just pondering baseball, obviously, my swing, trying to find something that I thought would work.”
After a slow start in the minors, Melendez, 26, was able to rediscover what once made him one of the Royals’ top prospects. His batting average increased each month and in July he hit .333 with four home runs, seven doubles and nine RBIs in 15 games.
That earned Melendez a promotion by the Royals on Wednesday when Nick Loftin was placed on the concussion list. But getting back to the big leagues wasn’t easy.
Late nights
Minor-league players typically stay in apartments provided by the Royals. Melendez, however, chose to stay at a hotel for three months.
As he failed to turn things around immediately, he began leaving the ballpark with his bat.
“I went through some low lows, and had some sleepless nights for sure,” Melendez said. “Stayed up, just pondering baseball, obviously, my swing, trying to find something that I thought would work. Having baseball bats in my room, trying to fix my swing really early in the morning.”
Melendez hit 41 home runs in 2021, most across the minor leagues. He believed he was capable of being that player once again.
But how? For starters, Melendez ditched the changes he’d made during the offseason. In the wee hours of the morning, following the Storm Chasers’ games, he’d watch videos of his past successes at the plate, then take swings while looking in the mirror.
The other thing Melendez learned: Change wouldn’t come overnight.
“I was really able to test myself and find myself,” he said. “I feel like, at times, I had hit rock bottom and felt like it was about as bad as it could get for me mentally.
“And then I also felt like I was in a really, really good spot, and felt the best I felt in years. So (I’ve) just been able to grow a lot and really break down every part of my game.”
Leaning on family
As Melendez was talking with the media, Royals executive Reggie Sanders sneaked behind him for a selfie.
Wednesday felt a little like when Melendez was first called up by the Royals in 2022, although he didn’t get nearly as many calls and texts from loved ones.
But Melendez said his family helped him get through the difficult times this year.
“I’m very thankful for my family, for being there for me throughout the whole time,” he said. “I had a lot of conversations with them every single day.
“I just was able to get deeper in my faith in God, as well. Because when you’re that low, there’s only so many people that can really help you. So big things like that, honestly, were able to really get me through it and get me back to where I’m at now.”
While thrilled to be in the Royals’ clubhouse once again, Melendez isn’t foolish enough to believe that he won’t face future struggles.
No baseball player is immune from slumps. Melendez, however, believes he’s better prepared now for those times when the road gets bumpy.
“When you’re going there (to Omaha), it’s more like you have to kind of experience it for yourself and kind of get through it yourself, which was definitely like a test in its own,” he said.
“A lot of things that I was able to go through in that point in time, I felt like I didn’t know why it was happening, and was just really in a tough spot mentally. But I feel like it’s helped me grow and helped me become way stronger mentally for any challenges that I’ll be able to face up here now.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Royals’ MJ Melendez had ‘low lows’ after demotion. Here’s how things turned around."
