San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill has enjoyed a remarkable rookie season. He’s been historically clutch for the Padres, helping in the team’s quest to reach the postseason for the third time in the last five years. He’s even managed to surpass pitching sensation Paul Skenes as the frontrunner for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
Merrill is up to an outstanding 4.9 fWAR on the season. Since 1900 there have only been 12 first-year players 21 or younger that have posted 5+ fWAR, according to Ryan Payne on X. Merrill is on the verge of joining baseball legends like Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Frank Robinson and Shoeless Joe Jackson, per Payne.
The Padres selected Merrill with the 27th pick in the 2021 draft. He made his major league debut with San Diego this season and the results have been even better than anticipated. Merrill is slashing .292/.323/.504 with 28 doubles, 24 home runs, 86 RBI and 74 runs scored. He has an .827 OPS and an OPS+ of 126 in 148 games for the Padres.
In addition to his contributions on offense, Merrill has played stellar defense at a challenging position. The young center fielder is worth nine Outs Above Replacement, per Baseball Savant, which is good for 12th best at his position and 33rd best overall in MLB.
Jackson Merrill is having an historic rookie season for the Padres
Incredibly Merrill has become the betting favorite to take home Rookie of the Year honors. Entering the All-Star break it seemed impossible that anyone could catch Skenes. The Pittsburgh Pirates sensation was on a tear to open the season and became the first rookie to start an All-Star game since Hideo Nomo in 1995. Merrill joined Skenes as a first-year National League All-Star. And since the Midsummer Classic, Merrill continued to elevate his play, ultimately surpassing the hurler. His odds to win the award are now -240 with Skenes at 180, per FanDuel.
More importantly, Merrill has been a major contributor to a Padres team attempting to reach the playoffs. San Diego has been the hottest team in baseball since returning from the All-Star break with an MLB-best 37-17 record. The Padres are now 3.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. San Diego currently holds the first NL Wild Card berth with a 2.5 game lead over the New York Mets. The team also welcomed Fernando Tatis Jr. back from the injured list in time for the September stretch run.
Despite their best efforts, the Padres have been unable to chase down the Dodgers as LA has the third best record in baseball since the All-Star game at 34-21. Still, it’s been a special season for Merrill and San Diego as the first-year player and the team appear set to do some serious damage in the playoffs.
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