How Melendez's new swing could make him an X-factor for Royals

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The leg kick is much smaller and the hands are back toward his shoulder, almost giving the bat a flatter position as the batter gears up. The stance is still athletic but more balanced. The movements, overall, are simplified.

It’s not a complete swing overhaul for MJ Melendez, but it sure looks different this spring.

The Royals outfielder spent his offseason in Miami revamping his positioning at the plate, unlearning the big movements that have led to flashes of insane power at times in his young career but also too often to unbalanced swings and unproductive at-bats.

The key was for Melendez to simplify the movements and be on time with his swing. The goal is to be consistent throughout the course of a long season that would ideally see improvement from one of the Royals’ core homegrown players.

“The last three years, I haven’t felt like I’ve really shown who I am as a player,” Melendez said. “I’ve had a lot of at-bats, and that’s what I’ve been, but I don’t really feel like that’s who I am. I was definitely eager to get into the offseason and work on my swing so I can show that I can have success.”

Conversations with the Royals’ hitting staff led Melendez to this offseason’s training. In 2024, he slashed .206/.273/.400 with 17 home runs and an 85 wRC+. Swing and miss continued to be part of his game, and playing time dwindled.

After the season, Melendez created a plan for a swing revamp and kept the Royals in the loop.

“They’re simplified. It’s less movement, it’s trying to be on time more consistently,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He really realized that this was the right time to do it.”

Jumping to conclusions early in camp is silly, especially as hitters are just beginning to see live pitching and games haven’t even started. However, the Royals and Melendez both like what they see so far.

In the past, Melendez’s leg kick was big, and his hands started out in front of him. He’s one of the most athletic hitters on the Royals' roster, and his mobility could afford him those big movements as he geared up to swing and unleash as much power as he could on the ball.

It worked at times. Melendez was around league average his rookie year and made a tweak to have a solid second half of 2023. Back in the Minor Leagues, Melendez was a monster, hitting 41 homers in Double-A and Triple-A in ‘21.

Tough Major League pitching exposed his weaknesses. The big movements likely led to timing issues. Simplifying helps with that while also being more repeatable, still allowing Melendez to create the right tension he needs without sacrificing power.

“Because he had his hands in front of him, it would travel, travel, travel back, along with the big leg kick,” assistant hitting coach Keoni DeRenne said. “Now all these moves, when you have [velocity], it’s hard to time up, [especially] because of the separation of the offspeed pitches.

“Timing, rhythm, balance is so important to be a successful hitter. And it’s hard when we don’t know what’s coming at us. MJ, because of the hyper-mobility he has, he can be in awkward positions and still be able to get the barrel to the ball, which is what we’ve seen over time. But at the same time, it sometimes works against him. Maybe the zone expands, and you’re thinking, ‘I can get to that pitch because of the way I move, I can find a way or a solution to get to that pitch.’ ... He’s got to be able to use the lower half to anchor himself. When he takes pitches and he’s not moving around, I know he’s in a good spot.”

The message to Melendez this spring is about staying convicted in his process. Unlearning muscle memory is not easy.

But the Royals believe this might unlock something for Melendez and for them as the search for an impact bat didn’t yield anything this offseason.

“We all know how we feel about MJ’s tools,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “He can be a very impactful player. When he hits the ball to left field, drives the ball through left-center field … when you see a hitter do that for short periods of time, you know it’s in there. You just want to get it out on a consistent basis.”

Melendez knows he needs to prove it. Spring Training means nothing on Opening Day or in October.

“I’ve been in the league for three years now,” Melendez said. “I’ve had stretches [where] I’ve done really well and stretches where I haven’t. I wanted to find something that would be more consistent to get to pitches.”