The San Diego Padres have hung around the playoff picture without star-level production from their best players, but they are starting to come around.
The San Diego Padres have long waited for their star players to make an impact offensively and are starting to see results.
The Padres have stuck around in a tight National League wild card race despite a thin starting rotation and lack of offense, specifically from its best players, but the big three are figuring it out.
Over their last 30 games, third baseman Manny Machado is slashing .267/.331/.431 (.762 OPS) with five home runs and 19 RBI, right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is slashing .269/.360/.496 (.856 OPS) with six homers and 20 RBI and center fielder Jackson Merrill is slashing .322/.352/.593 (.945 OPS) with nine homers and 27 RBI.
Merrill has been on an absolute tear, and he may be the hottest hitter in baseball right now. Over his last seven games, the 23-year-old is slashing .357/.379/.750 (1.129 OPS) and has hit homers in three straight games.
In Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, Merrill slugged a go-ahead two-run shot off right-hander Logan Henderson in the seventh inning which held as the game-winning hit.
Since the All-Star break (24 games), Merrill is hitting .340 and has stolen four bases on top of the nine long-balls and 23 runs driven in. This is the player San Diego extended to a nine-year, $135 million deal last year.
Overall, Merrill has 19 dingers, 63 RBI and 23 stolen bases while slashing .244/.294/.419 (.713 OPS). The first half was extremely rough for the former All-Star, as he posted a poor slash line of .219/.278/.350 (.628 OPS) with 10 homers and 40 RBI through 81 games.
After an amazing rookie season that saw him finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and take home a Silver Slugger award, Merrill battled injuries and regression in 2025, clubbing 16 home runs with 67 RBI and slashing .264/.317/.457 (.774 OPS) over 115 games.
If this recent stretch of Merrill is the version of him that the Padres are getting down the stretch, paired with solid performances from Machado, Tatis and the rest of the supporting cast, San Diego should be able to sneak into the postseason.
The bullpen is arguably the best unit in the sport, especially considering they have the best closer in All-Star Mason Miller, so if new starting pitcher additions Robbie Ray and Casey Mize as well as the rest of the rotation can hold their own, the Padres will be a tough team to beat over the next two months.
