Royals Demote Former Top Prospect After Disappointing Start

Canha comes back after making quick work of a left abductor strain that sidelined him back on April 9. The late-Spring addition was off to a soaring start before that, posting a .471 on-base percentage across 17 plate appearances in 2025. 

Canha spent the minimum required time on the injured list and also spent three rehab games with Omaha, reaching base in 5 of his 13 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers. 

Melendez has struggled with the swing and miss this season. Baseball Savant has him ranked in the first percentile of players with Whiff%, with him checking in at 42.7 percent. His strikeout numbers are also equally concerning, with him striking out in 38.5 percent of at-bats this season. 

Royals GM J.J. Picollo spoke this morning to the media about Melendez's struggles, saying, "Those things take a little bit of time, it's not something you can fix overnight," Picollo said. "We're just going to be very encouraging to him because we think he's doing the right things, working on the right things, and now just go down and take a little bit of pressure off of him and do it at a different level."

This move is similar to what Kansas City did to Mike Moustakas after he got off to a troubled start in 2014. Although his visit to Omaha only lasted just over a week, he still came back to the Royals with a more balanced approach at the plate and helped to take Kansas City all the way to the World Series that October.  

It will be interesting to see how long Melendez's stint in Omaha lasts. The Royals outfielders have struggled mightily to begin the season, so don't be surprised if we see MJ back in the coming weeks and a different outfielder sent up I-29.