SAN DIEGO — A week before Jackson Merrill debuted for the San Diego Padres during his first trip outside the U.S., his hitting coach stood under a doorway at the Peoria Sports Complex and praised the youngest hitter left in big-league camp.
“I like everything. The ability to hit the ball to all fields. The ability to stay up the middle of the field. You cannot go wrong with that,” Victor Rodriguez said that day in March.
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He added: “We would like him to at times get the (bat) head out to the pull side. But hey, one thing you cannot teach is staying in the big part of the field. I think eventually he will learn who’s pitching and he will take his chances middle-in and get the head out.”
Exactly three months later, Merrill became the youngest player in big-league history to hit a walk-off home run amid a multi-homer performance. The first blast touched down beyond the center-field wall at Petco Park, demonstrating the 21-year-old’s ample all-fields power. The second came against Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller, one of the more dominant relievers in the majors. The decisive swing itself was just as significant: Reacting to a first-pitch, down-and-in slider, Merrill dropped his bat head and pulled a 369-foot drive into the short porch in right field.
And it would go down as the second home run in a notable string. Between June 12 and Saturday, Merrill became the youngest player in Padres history to hit seven home runs in 10 games — and the first major-leaguer age 21 or younger to do so since Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto did it in 2020. It remains too soon to label Merrill the kind of franchise-altering talents Tatis and Soto have been, but the rookie center fielder already is an impact player because of his athleticism, his defense, his contact ability and, especially of late, his increased aggressiveness in the batter’s box.
“Take your shots,” Merrill said after a series-clinching win against the Milwaukee Brewers. “I’ve been learning when to take my shots and when not to.”
The fourth inning Saturday brought a green light. Merrill came to the plate with two on and one out. Earlier, in the bottom of the second, he had seen everything Carlos Rodriguez had to offer, battling the Brewers starter through a 13-pitch at-bat before lining an opposite-field single. In their rematch, Rodriguez threw Merrill a 1-1 fastball over the heart of the plate. It ended up over the center-field wall.
This kid is on fiiiiire 🎶@CallawayGolf | #KingsOfDistance pic.twitter.com/htHJjbff96
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 23, 2024
“In that situation,” Merrill said, “you’re trying to drive somebody in and not trying to just get a little single.”
His slugging proved critical; thanks to a late Brewers grand slam, the Padres went on to win by just two runs, with Merrill having supplied a career-high three RBIs on one swing. Meanwhile, the direction of his 10th big-league home run indicated Merrill has not strayed from the approach that made him an elite prospect.
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“Some guys start to display and feel that power, and it tends to be a feel for trying to do too much,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “What I love about it is he’s still hitting balls to dead-center and driving balls to that part of the ballpark that are also hit out of the park. He’s just trying to stay on the ball and he’s been able to pull some breaking balls.”
“I think we need to preach to him to stay in the big part of the field,” Rodriguez said during spring training. “Inside (pitching) is just ‘react.’ And I know in the major leagues they’re gonna start pounding him inside. But that’s part of the learning process. He’s gonna learn. He’s gonna learn by going through it and learning how to get to that pitch.”
Only a few months after that prediction, Merrill continues to display rare aptitude and all-fields power. In Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Milwaukee, he inside-outed a double to left field. Two innings later, he drove a 2-1 changeup 394 feet to the warning track in center field. It was caught for an out, but it was another reminder that he already has emerged as one of the Padres’ top threats.
A surprisingly effective outfield
As he played winter ball for his hometown Estrellas Orientales last offseason, Tatis recalled recently, he had a lot to think about. The Padres’ right fielder was coming off a stellar defensive campaign but also a disappointing summer on offense. There also was the matter of a barren outfield. Soto, the team’s starting left fielder in 2023, and center fielder Trent Grisham had been traded to the New York Yankees in the same deal. Tatis entered this year unsure of who would occupy the two spots beside him.
“Definitely no idea,” Tatis said last week. “Probably at the same time, I was thinking about playing center field.”
The Padres’ (and Tatis’) confidence in Merrill, a lifelong shortstop, helped convince Tatis to stay in right field, where he won last season’s National League Platinum Glove. Tatis was especially pleased when close friend and left fielder Jurickson Profar re-signed with the team (for a guarantee of merely $1 million). But when San Diego opened the season, few people around the sport expected much collective production from the trio, citing Merrill’s inexperience and Profar’s lack of production in 2023.
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Now, the Padres are a .500 team that might be buried in the standings without the contributions of Profar and Merrill. Profar leads all NL outfielders with 2.8 FanGraphs wins above replacement, Tatis ranks second with 2.5 WAR, and Merrill is fourth (2.1 WAR) — and first among NL center fielders. Profar and Tatis appear to be early favorites to start the All-Star Game. Merrill has put together a strong case to at least make it as a reserve.
For Profar, an All-Star selection would be his first. Still, the veteran is keeping things in a broader perspective.
“It would mean a lot,” Profar said, “but winning here right now has more importance.”
Offensive reinforcements needed
Right now, lingering injuries to two-thirds of the outfield represent the Padres’ biggest obstacles to winning. Profar continues to play through the patellar tendinitis that has forced him from two recent games. Shildt said Tatis was available to come off the bench in the right situation Sunday — the Padres never got there — but Tatis remains day to day with a left elbow/triceps contusion and the quad injury he has played through since April.
While other teams continue to describe A.J. Preller as “aggressive” in his pursuit of pitching, the general manager is believed to also be seeking an outfielder who could at least provide an upgrade over San Diego’s current depth. Reserves David Peralta and José Azocar each have a sub-.600 OPS.
(Photo of Jackson Merrill: Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)
