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Royals Calling Up Top-Ranked Prospect After Injury

Larry Rupp
The Kansas City Royals are calling up top-ranked prospect MJ Melendez following an injury.
The Kansas City Royals are calling up top-ranked prospect MJ Melendez following an injury. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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Kansas City Royals fans do not have too much to cheer about right now considering the team sits 5.0 games out of first place in the American League Central with a 7-13 record. That changed on Monday when the team announced that prospect MJ Melendez has been called up to the big leagues.

Kansas City Royals News

Melendez will be taking over the backup catcher role for now after Cam Gallagher suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Sunday's loss to the New York Yankees. Gallagher was placed on the 10-day injured list, which means Melendez will have at least a week to see gain some valuable experience.

The Royals' No. 2 prospect is about as well-rounded as a young catcher can be with a bat in his hand. He possesses power to all parts of the field and continues to improve his strikeout rate. In fact, Melendez took home the Joe Bauman Award in 2021 after leading the minor leagues with 41 HRs.

In 2022, the 23-year-old has posted a slash line of .167/.286/.295 across 21 games played at the Triple-A level. Melendez has also racked up 13 walks, 7 runs scored, 4 doubles, 6 RBI and 3 stolen bases. He will be called upon to start behind the plate on days that Salvador Perez acts as the DH.

Kansas City is in need of a spark, so it's possible Melendez also earns some playing time in right field or at DH, too. It'll be interesting to see how baseball's No. 49 prospect makes an impact. For now, the Royals have odds set at +20000 to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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