The Long-Awaited Jackson Merrill Post

     Well, long-awaited for me at least.

    Jackson Merrill has quickly become one of my favorite players. He's a flashy young talent, who possesses all the skills of a genuine five-tool player. He is also my email account's profile picture.

    Merrill's family helped pave the way for his road to the major leagues. Because his birthday is on April 19th, he was often the youngest player on his teams, so had to work harder to keep up with the rest. His father, who coached him when he was younger, taught him to hit to contact and not strike out; something which he is good at still, as he holds a 17.4% strikeout rate.

    The work paid off for Merrill, who was extremely determined to break into the big leagues. Jackson was drafted by the Padres in the first round (27th overall) in 2021 out of Severna Park High School in Maryland. He played in 200 minor league games from Rookie Ball through AA, and slashed .295/.347/.455 in that time with 21 home runs. 

    Merrill made his major league debut on March 20th against the Dodgers in South Korea, going 0-for-3 in his first big league game. He would go 2-for-5 in the second and final game of the Seoul Series, and the Padres would win that game, 15-11. 

    Merrill hit his first major league home run on April first, in the bottom of the third inning off of St. Louis' Kyle Gibson. A 4-for-4 game on April seventh took his batting average up from .233 to .324, and he never looked back from there. The rookie has been as consistent a hitter as you'll see these days.

    

    

    Though he has played in only 151 games, Merrill is being called the most clutch hitter in baseball. Is this statement true? I would say so.

    Jackson already has multiple walkoff hits, not to mention his extreme consistency at the plate. He's batting over .290, slugging over .500 and has at least six game-tying or go-ahead bombs in the eighth inning or later.

    Unfortunately for Merrill, Paul Skenes exists in 2024.

    

    Jackson Merrill is putting on such a stellar season, he seems to be the obvious candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, right? Well, it seemed so, but then Paul Skenes emerged and has, quite frankly, been dominant. Though he plays for the Pirates, Skenes has accumulated an 11-3 record and 1.99 ERA in 22 starts, striking out 167 batters in 131 innings. It's definitely a race between the two, but considering how much hype Skenes had, I think that he'll win it. However, when you consider how big an impact Merrill has made for a team that's headed to the playoffs (and probably couldn't do so without him), we'll just need to wait and see. My loyalties lie with the Padres centerfielder all the way.

    Well, this has been a little bit shorter than I had hoped it would be. Nonetheless, I think I got the point across. Merrill is a young phenom, and I think he has a superstar's career in his future. I look forward to watching him in the playoffs, and I can't wait to see what he does in 2025 as a 22-year old already with one awesome year of experience under his belt.