Kansas City Royals veteran Zack Greinke praises rookie MJ Melendez’s work at catcher

Kansas City Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez knows he has a job to do and that Zack Greinke is just a teammate. A pitcher just like the others he works with on a daily basis.

But he’s also Zack Greinke. So Melendez couldn’t help being a little bit awestruck when he got the stamp of approval from the former Cy Young Award winner who is likely to be enshrined in Cooperstown some day.

Melendez had two hits, including a home run, in the Royals’ 6-2 win against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. But the thing that lit up his face and put enthusiasm in his voice was the idea that Greinke praised his work behind the plate.

“We talked and he complimented me,” Melendez said of his interaction with Greinke. “That was something that I told my dad actually over text. This made my day. This is better than the home run, almost.”

Melendez made just his eighth major-leauge start at catcher, his first with Greinke as his battery mate. Meanwhile, Greinke made his 496th start, tying Mickey Lolich for 49th in major-league history.

Greinke, who has spent 18 years in the majors, has the second-most career wins of any active pitcher in the majors (219). The six-time All-Star also ranks among the top three among active pitchers in innings (3,154, first), strikeouts (2,827, third) and starts (first).

“That’s something that can be crossed off the bucket list,” Melendez said. “You know he’s going to be a future Hall of Famer, for sure.”

Greinke allowed just two runs on seven hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four. He used all of his pitches and gave up just one extra-base hit.

“I thought he did a great job,” Greinke said of Melendez. “Framed really good, I thought. It’s a little easier when I throw it closer to where the set-up is instead of always having to try to catch stuff not located. I thought he did a really good job with that.

“He called some pitches that kinda wasn’t on the scouting report at that time, but it actually made a lot of sense. I don’t know if he was thinking that good along with the game or seeing things, but I thought he did a really good job.”

Melendez has garnered some notoriety for his power production as a hitter in the minors, but he has also shown off athleticism and defensive prowess as a catcher throughout his time in the Royals’ farm system.

Earning the respect and trust of a pitcher like Greinke meant a great deal to Melendez.

“That’s one of the best compliments I could get, definitely,” Melendez said.

With Salvador Perez on the injured list, Melendez will be the club’s primary catcher. That places a lot of responsibility on his shoulders in regard to his work with the pitching staff and pregame preparation. Melendez has said several times that he continues to lean on Perez daily for help and guidance.

Specifically with Greinke, who Melendez hadn’t caught before, Melendez said his goal was to “catch onto” the way Greinke was thinking as he called pitches for the veteran right-hander.

Not only did Melendez have a full understanding of the scouting report, but he also tried to utilize what he’d gleaned from having watched Greinke up close the last couple weeks he’s been with the major-league club. Melendez tried to get a feel for how Greinke wants to pitch and how he likes to use his pitch arsenal.

Melendez had one of the fastest throws down to second base of any Royals catcher in the past three years over the weekend in Denver. On Wednesday night, he showed off his arm and his aggressiveness by making a snap throw to first base in an attempt to pick-off White Sox leadoff man Tim Anderson as he took his secondary lead off the base.

“That pickoff snap throw to first, that’s when you start to see kind of that athleticism and that naturalness I know we talk a lot about,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He just does some things all day long. He blocked about a dozen balls. He had a real nice rhythm. …

“Zack came in and said, ‘You know what, he called a really good game.’ I don’t know if MJ realizes what a compliment that is because that guy is not easy to please. He’s thinking, and you better be thinking along with him. For a young player, the first time he catches a veteran pitcher like that — for them to be on the same page, that’s probably as impressive as anything that happened today.”