Selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round (No. 52 overall) of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida... his father, Mervyl Melendez, is the head coach at Florida International University, where his son had committed to play collegiate baseball before signing with the Royals... agreed to sign with Kansas City on June 24, 2017 and received a $2.1 million bonus, above the $1.295 million slot value... in pre-Draft rankings, Melendez was rated 32nd by Fangraphs, 52nd by Baseball America, 60th by ESPN and 72nd by MLB.com... was considered the top high school catcher in the 2017 Draft class... made his Minor League debut on June 25 with the AZL Royals, going 1-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs... hit his first career home run on June 28, 2017... from Montgomery, Alabama, where he initially attended St. James High School before joining Westminster Christian for his senior year... was selected to the Perfect Game All-American Classic in 2016.