Padres’ Jackson Merrill becomes favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year

It has been quite an interesting year for Jackson Merrill.

The San Diego Padres converted the top prospect from a shortstop into a center fielder during spring training. The 21-year-old performed well enough during Cactus League play to make the opening-day lineup.

Merrill showed that his spring training in Arizona was not a fluke. His strong first half landed him a spot on the National League team in the All-Star Game in July. Merrill has also won NL Rookie of the Month twice.

Now, Merrill is a key figure for the Padres in the pennant race. San Diego has a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first NL wild card and has an outside chance to win the NL West as the Padres trail the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by five games with 20 games remaining.

“I’ve been checking every box in my first year,” Merrill told Draft Nation with a smile.

However, Merrill wasn’t bragging. He said it with more of a tone of amazement for a guy who began last season at the High-A level.

“I think the biggest thing is how I come to the field every day and it feels like a family in here,” Merrill said. “I try to get here to the clubhouse as early as possible just to hang out with these guys. That’s the best part of it. It’s what I’m enjoying the most.”

The personable Merrill has been able to fit into the Padres’ clubhouse seamlessly despite his young age. It also helps that Merrill is having an exceptional rookie season, hitting .291/.323/.498 with 22 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 137 games. His 82 RBIs are a franchise rookie record.

Merrill leads all MLB rookies in batting averages, slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits (51) and OPS (.821).

Merrill isn’t necessarily surprised by his success.

After all, he was the Padres’ first-round draft pick in 2021 following his senior year of high school in Severna Park, Md. Merrill was ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the game by Baseball Prospectus coming into spring training this year while MLB.com had him at No. 12 and he was No. 17 on Baseball America’s list.

However, he is appreciative of what he has been able to accomplish.

“I love good baseball and you’re going up against the very best of the best in the big leagues,” Merrill said. “It’s fun and it’s amazing to see so many great players up close. I’m really having a blast.”

Merrill has also become the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year, an award that once seemed certain to go to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes.

However, the fact that Merrill has risen to the top of the odds chart is a tribute to him more than anything Skenes hasn’t done. The right-hander is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA in 19 starts and has 142 strikeouts in 114 innings.

Skenes had done enough to win RoY in many seasons. However, Merrill has had a first year to remember even though he is barely old enough to buy an alcoholic drink.

“How do you put it into words?” Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. told reporters about Merrill. “This kid has been doing it all year. He’s just showing up. He’s showing what type of player he is. I’m not gonna get tired of saying the talent that he is, how he came in spring, taking care of business. He is just getting in front of this line with the group and pulling that rope together with this group.”