San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill had an incredible rookie season in 2024 but injuries derailed his sophomore season.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill is about to enter his age-23 season and third in Major League Baseball.
He was an All-Star, won the Silver Slugger and finished ninth in NL Most Valuable Player voting as a young rookie. That’s a sign of brilliant things to come, and Merrill was primed to build on his epic 2024 campaign.
Unfortunately, the injury bug wasn’t as kind to Merrill as it was the season before. Merrill only played 115 games in 2025 and was on the injured list three times throughout the season. A hamstring strain in April cost him a month of action after batting .378 through 10 games before returning for a solid stretch in May when he slashed .298/.337/.440.
He then sustained a concussion in mid-June, earning a 10-day stint on the IL. He struggled after the concussion but started to pick it up in August before a left ankle sprain/bone bruise kept him sidelined for a couple of weeks. He returned to the lineup at the beginning of September and slashed .275/.320/.626 (.946 OPS), getting hot right before the playoffs.
Although the Padres would lose in the NL Wild Card Series to the Chicago Cubs in three games, Merrill was 3-for-9 with two doubles, a homer and two RBI.
Despite missing time, Merrill still smacked 16 home runs, 25 doubles and six triples with 67 RBI while slashing .264/.317/.457 (.774 OPS).
Merrill is a great offensive player but doesn’t get enough love for his defensive prowess. He didn’t earn any Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in two seasons but has accumulated 15 Outs Above Average (OAA) during that stretch. If the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong wasn’t in the NL, Merrill would probably be the best defensive CF.
Because he was so great in his rookie season and injuries heavily impacted his sophomore season, ESPN gave Merrill the benefit of the doubt and ranked him as the 43rd-best MLB player for the 2026 season.
“This ranking is testament to the panel's faith that Merrill will bounce back from a bit of a disappointing second season that saw his WAR drop from 4.4 in 2024 to 2.7 in 2025 and his OPS decline from .826 to .774,” David Schoenfield wrote Wednesday. “But Merrill is still just entering his age-23 season, so his superstar potential remains intact.”
Schoenfield notes that his seventh-percentile chase rate needs to improve but predicts the star will become just the second Padre in franchise history to club 30 homers and even hits some walk-offs in a magical third season.