Manuel Melendez

Manuel Alejandro Melendez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.

• Born January 10, 1997 in Barquisimeto, Lara Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

Manuel Melendez has played in the minors and for the Venezuelan national team.

He was signed by the Colorado Rockies four days before his 17th birthday. He debuted as a pro that summer with the DSL Rockies, hitting .227/.295/.296. In 2015, he repeated with the same team and improved his batting line to .267/.343/.376. He stole 15 bases but was caught 13 times. His 7 triples tied for 8th in the Dominican Summer League.

Coming stateside in 2016, he produced at a .294/.337/.434 clip for the Grand Junction Rockies and was much more successful at steals (24 for 30). He tied Taylor Trammell for 3rd in the Pioneer League in swipes.

In 2017, he hit .266/.291/.393 for the Asheville Tourists with more homers (11) or caught stealing (11) than walks (10). He pilfered 32 bags and scored 78 runs. He was among the South Atlantic League top 10 in runs (3rd, after Blake Perkins and Isiah Gilliam), steals (tied Cristian Pache for 4th) and hits (130, tied for 7th with Cole Billingsley and Leody Taveras). Among Rockies farmhands, he tied Jordan Patterson for 7th in runs and was 7th in steals (between Mylz Jones and Yonathan Daza).

Melendez batted .291/.328/.401 for the Lancaster JetHawks with 76 runs, 11 triples and 17 steals in 33 tries. He more than doubled his walks, to 25. He was 5th in the California League in runs (between Edward Olivares and Cristian Santana), led in triples (one ahead of Dairon Blanco and Olivares) and tied Johneshwy Fargas for the most times caught stealing (though Fargas had 30 more steals). Among Rockies minor leaguers, he was second in three-baggers, one behind Josh Fuentes.

Making his Venezuelan Winter League debut, he hit .261/.299/.348 for the Cardenales de Lara and stole four bases without being caught. His batting line for the 2019 Hartford Yard Goats was .258/.292/.346 and his steal rate improved (18 SB, 9 CS). He turned four double plays to tie Bralin Jackson and Mickey Moniak for the lead among Eastern League flyhawks.

He was on the Venezuelan squad for the 2019 Premier 12. He got into two games. Against Japan, he took over in left when LF Alí Castillo moved to second base but did not get to bat. Against pool host Taiwan, he hit 9th and played the whole day in left. He was 1 for 3, his 5th-inning single off Yi Chang being Taiwan's second hit of the day as their offense got muffled. He had two putouts in the event.