At 6-foot 1-inch tall, MJ Melendez is a lean left-handed hitting, excellent fielding catcher who was considered one of the top, if not the top, catchers in the 2017 draft. He played high school ball at Westminster Christian High in Miami, Florida and committed to playing for his father at Florida International University. However the Kansas City Royals came calling by selecting Melendez with the 52nd overall pick in the 2017 draft.
Although he wanted to help his father lead FIU to the College World Series for the first time, the lure of playing major league baseball and a signing bonus that was over $800k above the slot was enough for him to join the Kansas City Royals.