Ivan Melendez's All-American season by the (ridiculous) numbers

Opposing pitching has walked Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez 36 times during the 2021 season. For some reason, not a single free pass given to the El Paso native known as the “Hispanic Titanic” has been of the intentional variety. That stat is one of many that tells the tale of the incredible campaign the second-year Longhorn is having for the No. 10 team in the nation.

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Melendez, who transferred to Texas from Odessa College with the endorsement of former UT infielder Omar Quintanilla, made a bet on himself in returning to the Longhorns after an impressive 2021 season. Batting cleanup for most of the year behind Zach Zubia, Melendez slugged 13 homers and drove in 51 while slashing .319/.438/.603 (AVG/OBP/SLG) last year. He hit one of the program’s most important home runs in recent memory at the 2021 College World Series versus Mississippi State with a three-run ninth-inning go-ahead blast that put Texas one game away from the championship series.

He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB draft, but chose to return to Texas to make another trip to Omaha and to improve his stock and become a more well-rounded player. Melendez knew he needed to show he could play first base to impress MLB scouts, and dedicated himself to adding that tool to his kit.

In 2022 as the Longhorns’ everyday first baseman, Melendez has recorded just one error. As impressive as his .997 fielding percentage is in his first season playing the position full-time at the Division I level, it does not compare to some of his hitting statistics that have him as a contender for the Dick Howser Trophy, the college baseball equivalent of the Heisman.

Melendez is currently batting .401, good for No. 24 in the country. He has hit 21 home runs on the year, the third-most in a season in school history and tied for first in the country.

His Division I-leading home run totals, along with his national-best .908 slugging percentage, are made more impressive by the fact he plays the majority of his games at the pitcher-friendly UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Twelve of his 21 homers have left the Disch, including five in the last week versus Air Force and Baylor.

In total, Ivan Melendez is slashing .401/.526/.908. His BABIP is .408.

He leads the nation in slugging, home runs, and total bases.

He's top 30 in walks, BA, hits, OBP, runs, and RBI.

He also has ONE error this season. #HookEm https://t.co/m12wRsG23I

— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) April 26, 2022

Plus, he isn’t just slugging, he’s hitting as the numbers above suggest. Opponents regularly shift against Melendez in order to keep him off base should he pull the ball. He usually hits it over the infield’s head, but he is more than capable of hitting it the other way.

His plate discipline is greatly improved from last season. In 2021, he struck out 65 times, seventh most in a season in school history. This year? He has just 33 strikeouts in 41 games.

With 13 regular season games remaining, and the Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament still ahead of him, Melendez has a good shot to break Kyle Russell’s single season record of 28 home runs set in 2007.

Other records within reach? Tom Hamilton’s .878 slugging percentage mark set in 1949, Brian Cisarik’s .535 on-base percentage record set in 1987, and Scott Bryant’s 199 total bases reached in 1989.

Melendez isn’t just doing all his work at home, either, where he walks up to one of many renditions of Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s song “El Rey.” No matter what park he plays in, the Hispanic Titanic just hits.

The Coronado High School product is helped immensely by having fellow Howser Trophy candidate Murphy Stehly batting behind him in the lineup. Stehly is second in the nation in hits with 71 and is hitting an impressive .408 himself.

That duo paces a Texas offense posting historic numbers at the plate. As a team, the Longhorns are hitting .321 with a .415 on-base percentage and a .555 slugging percentage. David Pierce’s club has totaled 78 home runs, 99 doubles, and nine triples to help score 352 runs.

Single-season records for home runs (81, 2010), batting average (.325, 1975), and slugging percentage (.508, 1974) are all within reach as the No. 10 Longhorns attempt to host an NCAA tournament regional for the third time in the Pierce era.

If the Longhorns break those records, it’ll be largely due to what Melendez has achieved this season. Those achievements might just make him, as his walk-up tune might suggest, el rey del beisbol universitario this year.