This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf's Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BOSTON -- What would you give up for a chance to be a pro baseball player? It’s a prospect that's unrealistic for all except a select few, but we can all have those childhood dreams. Would you give up all your free time to practice and weight lifting? Offer a prized possession?
Gustavo Melendez gave up his senior prom. Leading up to last July’s Draft, the Pirates invited the Puerto Rican shortstop to Pirate City for a meeting and a chance to see their facilities in Bradenton, Fla. The offer was too enticing to pass up, so he broke the plans he had with his girlfriend for the dance.
Don’t worry, the story has a happy ending. The Pirates selected Melendez in the fourth round (he’s now their No. 26 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) and he’s still together with his girlfriend.
“The goal was to be a professional baseball player,” Melendez said in Pirate City earlier this month. “I had the opportunity to be one and took it.”
It was well-earned, as Melendez was ranked as the top prospect out of Puerto Rico this Draft. He also knows it wasn’t just his doing. When Melendez was 10, his dad, Hilberto, gave up his job as an electrician to become a handyman so he could control his schedule and make sure he could pitch to his son.
Melendez fell in love with the game at the age of just two years old, watching baseball constantly at home and on the diamond. When he was at the latter, it was usually to watch Hilberto pitch. Hilberto’s baseball career did not take him off the island (it was mostly recreational leagues), but it sparked Melendez's dream.
Realizing that dream was a challenge. It was important for Melendez to have an opportunity to go to college, so he went to an academic school his senior year that didn’t have a baseball team. His baseball upbringing for years was showcases and tournaments in America during the summer months, and then just a doubleheader on Saturdays during the school year. If he went 0-for-8, he would have to wear it for a week.
Any hitter will tell you that consistent playing time helps with swings. To simulate those reps, Hilberto would pitch to him or assist him with the machine. As he continued to grow and make an impact in those showcases, the 5’8” 17-year-old shortstop became one of the most highly-touted Draft prospects Puerto Rico has produced in years.
“We're excited with what he's going to be able to do,” amateur scouting director Justin Horowitz said last month. “Just give him time. Don't just look at the frame and watch him play. I think he's going to grow on a lot of people."
There’s some irony in that thought from Horowitz, because getting people just to watch him has been half of Melendez’s battle. Some of that is because of his frame. He generates plenty of bat speed with an uphill swing plane that yielded a 50-grade hit tool with potential to be an impact left-handed bat.
He can generate pop, but there was some skepticism since he’s not a big guy.
“I’ve always had to work harder,” Melendez said. “There’s players bigger than me. But at the end of the day, you don’t have to be 6’3”, 6’4” to hit the ball hard. You can be the height I am, and if you work hard, you can hit the ball hard.”
The greater challenge was getting people to come see him in Puerto Rico. Including Melendez, only five players have been selected in the first five rounds in the past six Drafts. Puerto Rico isn’t being ignored, but is usually put on the back burner in favor of scouting areas.
“Not a lot of people want to come to Puerto Rico to watch one player, two players,” Melendez said. “There’s a lot of players that are good that don’t have the opportunity to be looked at. I’m just trying to help because if I do something good, the [scouts] are going to want to see if there’s someone over there.”
Melendez knows he could help drum up interest in scouting back home if he emerges as a top prospect as a day two pick. If there is any team that should know the impact of Puerto Rico baseball, it’s the Pirates because of Roberto Clemente.
And when you talk about sacrifices and baseball, nobody ranks higher than Clemente, something Melendez knows and still feels today.
“Being from Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente, he built a legacy,” Melendez said. “Puerto Rico roots for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I’m just going to try to build off that legacy of Puerto Ricans and the Pittsburgh Pirates and try to win a World Series one day.”