Padres rookie Jackson Merrill continues to play, continues to star: 'He's a bad guy'

LOS ANGELES – 41 months ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Severna Park High baseball team began a season that lasted just a few weeks. The Falcons played a total of 18 games. They won 17 times and lost by a narrow margin in the Maryland Class 4A state final. Their best player, senior shortstop Jackson Merrill, hit .500 with 13 home runs.

He also missed two midseason games after twisting his left ankle while exiting the potty – and after continuing to play the same day.

“I think I just tripped coming out,” Merrill said of one unforgettable accident. “I don’t even remember if I did any treatment. I maybe froze it and that was it. In high school you just eat it and play.”

With his ankle wrapped and several Padres evaluators present, Merrill hit a home run. Weeks later, he was drafted 27th overall by San Diego.

Less than three and a half years later, this past weekend brought the latest notable developments amid a meteoric rise. In Sunday's extracurricular Game 2 at hostile Dodger Stadium, Merrill made his 160th appearance as a rookie, playing 10 times as many times as he did three springs ago – and displaying poise beyond his years.

The only centerfielders to hit a home run in a playoff game at a younger age than Jackson Merrill are Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones and Mickey Mantle. (Keith Birmingham/Getty Images)

Merrill, 21, collected three hits. The first came a few at-bats before David Peralta, the Padres' senior position player, hit a home run to take an early lead. The second drove in Fernando Tatis Jr., not long after Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty threw Tatis to the ground and tempers began to boil. The third ball flew over the left field wall, setting off a late barrage.

That shot in the eighth inning made Merrill the youngest Padre ever to hit a home run in the postseason. He is now in elite company; The only centerfielders to hit a home run in a playoff game in their younger years are Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones and Mickey Mantle. And it preceded another eighth-inning home run by a teammate who won a World Series as a 20-year-old.

“Man, this guy is different,” said former Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts after the Padres tied their National League Division Series with a 10-2 win. “It's not luck. It's not as if. He knows he's a bad guy and he feels it and he believes it and that's who he is.”

Eleven years ago, as a youngster, Merrill cheered from afar as Bogaert and Merrill's favorite player at the time, Dustin Pedroia, defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games in October. Bogaerts was a rookie who had been drafted in August. He hit .250 home runs in 18 regular season games. He then went 8 of 27 with two RBIs en route to the title.

Merrill hit .292 with 24 home runs in his first regular season. After the All-Star break, he posted an OPS of .888. He impressed in midfield, a position he had never played until February this year. And so far in his first postseason, he's gone 6-of-14 with five RBIs.

Welcome to the postseason, Jackson Merrill! pic.twitter.com/yWY1iysvEs

– San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 7, 2024

“This guy is so much better than me at this age,” Bogaerts said. “And what’s even more special is that he makes it through an entire major league season. … I mean, this guy started at the back of the lineup. You could probably say he can go third or fourth in our lineup. Thanks to the guy. This shows how good he is and how hard he has worked.”

Or as Peralta said, “I’m telling you, man. He is the best. And he should be the rookie of the year.”

For months, Merrill's teammates and coaches have not shied away from pushing for such an outcome – perhaps because Merrill has steadfastly denied having any interest in individual awards. As the son of school teachers, he learned early on how to behave in both public and private environments. He spent most of his childhood undersized for his grade level. He eventually grew to six feet tall, although he retained and refined the skills that had helped him compete with larger and stronger opponents.

On Saturday, in his first big league playoff game in front of a hostile crowd, Merrill went hitless in two at-bats. Still, he seemed more than ready for the moment.

He fell behind 2-0 in the top of the third against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He rallied for a seven-pitch walk.

At the end of the eighth round he fell behind 1:2 against Michael Kopech, arguably Los Angeles' best high-leverage rescuer. He made two short throws, fouled four consecutive fastballs and walked again, prompting Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to sign Blake Treinen to a five-out, 39-pitch assignment.

And as Dodgers fans threw objects near fellow Padres outfielders Tatis and Jurickson Profar on Sunday, there was a picture of calm in Merrill. During a 10-minute delay before the end of the seventh, he played rock, paper and scissors with a young fan on the other side of the outfield wall.

“I was more worried about Pro,” Merrill said. “And then right field too; I think they were throwing beers and stuff. But no, I never try to interact badly with the fans. I'm always very respectful and just let the game play out. If someone is disrespectful to me, I just let it go. You know, that's easier. But I like to have fun and respect the fans. They came all the way here and paid their money to watch us play, so I’m just trying to do my best with them.”

It was an answer entirely in keeping with her character. Merrill stuck to a familiar script throughout the season, as he was frequently asked the question, “How are you doing at this age?”

“I’m just having fun, man,” Merrill said. “There's nothing more to it. I can't think of anything else about it. I'm just kidding. … I want to play as long as I can this year and we’re still here, so let’s keep going.”

Merrill did not have the opportunity to play a full season in either of his two full minor league seasons. He missed two months in 2022 after suffering an avulsion fracture in his left wrist. In 2023, he struggled with an early illness and a season-ending hamstring injury.

In April of this year, a strained groin led Padres manager Mike Shildt to sideline Merrill from the start at Coors Field. He returned to the lineup two days later and appeared in virtually every game until he hit a ball off his left kneecap in early September. He became a pinch hitter the next night and has started every game since.

His 156 regular-season appearances were the most by a player 21 and younger since Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2019. The other players who have reached that threshold since 2013: Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Ozzie Albies.

“He’s never played (a full major league season), and that’s clearly something that has to be experienced at some point,” Shildt said before Saturday’s series opener. “You can also see that he is 21 years old and loves playing baseball. I think it was really impressive on his part how he prepared, how he conserved his energy and still got through it.

“One thing that was eye-opening, at least for me, was the ground ball the other day; The run from home to first place was his fastest sprint time of the year. So he’s obviously physically and mentally ready.”

In fact, Merrill's youth and seemingly limitless energy have buoyed him to this point. But this also applies to certain other properties.

“He doesn’t look like a 21-year-old. He looks like a veteran the way he plays,” Peralta said. “It’s hard to believe it’s only his first year and he’s only 21 years old. And he has a great, long career ahead of him.”

“What this kid has done for this team this year is just unbelievable,” said Tatis, who once again looked like one of the game’s top superstars in his first postseason in front of fans. “His talent is incredible, his character. I feel like everyone can see what kind of baseball player he is.”

“Man, this guy is something else,” Bogaerts said. “He really is, man. He’s incredible.”

With the biggest series of the year moving to Petco Park, the Padres have plenty of reasons to believe. Merrill is one of the largest.

(Top photo by Jackson Merrill: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)