The 2023 season started off miserable for much of the Kansas City Royals offense. MJ Melendez, “Merv” for short, as his teammates would call him, was front and center during those offensive woes. He’s hitting just .237 this season but that number has actually risen drastically as the season has gone on. From Opening Day through the end of May, Melendez slashed just .205/.297/.362. His wRC+ in that span was 23% under league average, at 77 and he was striking out more than 31%.
For all of those reasons and more, it seems understandable how much of the fanbase grew disenchanted with the Royals’ outfielder.