Whirlwind!
That is the best word to describe Jackson Merrill’s journey during the 2024 baseball season, one that culminated Monday with the Severna Park native finishing as runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year.
Merrill had never played above Double-A and had never played any position other than shortstop during his very brief professional career. So to expect that he would become the everyday starting center fielder for the San Diego Padres seemed far-fetched back in February.
However, San Diego management made a bold decision to move its No. 2 prospect to center field to see if the youngster was capable of replacing two-time Gold Glove winner Trent Grisham, who was traded to the New York Yankees.
Merrill showed during spring training that he was ready for the major leagues both offensively and defensively and made history by starting for San Diego on opening day. The 2021 Severna Park graduate joined Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones as the only MLB players to start in center field for a season opener before turning 21 years old.
One would expect a rookie with less than three seasons worth of minor league experience to struggle at times. It never happened as Merrill got off to a strong start, made the National League All-Star team and performed at an even higher level during the second half of the season.
On Monday, Merrill was named the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Merrill was beaten out Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who received 23 of 30 first-place votes and seven second-place votes. Merrill netted seven first-place votes and 23 second-place votes to finish ahead of the other finalist, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio.
Merrill concluded the season with impressive offensive numbers, batting .292 with 24 home runs and 16 stolen bases. He led all NL rookies in multiple categories: hits (162), RBIs (90), batting average, slugging percentage (.500) and OPS (.826). He was also outstanding in the field, posting a .993 fielding percentage with only three errors in 403 chances, making numerous spectacular catches along the way.
Merrill, who turned 21 in April, displayed a penchant for coming through in the clutch — hitting five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later. His ability to plug a massive hole in the middle of an otherwise talented outfield was a major reason why the Padres returned to the playoffs after missing out in 2023.
Needless to say, Merrill far exceeded his $740,000 salary while helping San Diego remain competitive with big-market rivals like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, both of which had player payrolls nearly double that of the Padres.
Monday’s voting results were not that much of a surprise even though Merrill had already been chosen Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News. Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 23 starts (133 innings). Skenes, the first overall selection of the 2023 MLB draft, posted an 11-3 record with 170 strikeouts.
‘Merrill Madness’ takes over Camden Yards as Padres rookie returns to home state
San Diego selected Merrill in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 27th overall pick and he signed directly out of Severna Park for a $1.8 million bonus, foregoing a scholarship to Kentucky.
Merrill played shortstop with the Arizona Rookie League Complex Padres in 2021 and low Class A Lake Elsinore in 2022. The former Capital Gazette Player of the Year was still a shortstop when he opened the 2023 season with High-A Fort Wayne and through his promotion to Double-A San Antonio.
The Padres, who also traded outfielder Juan Soto to the Yankees, did not have a whole lot of options when seeking a third starter in the outfield. The organization actually began the experiment toward the end of last season, moving Merrill to left field for the final four games when he was with San Antonio.
Merrill locked down the starting center field spot with a superb spring training at the plate and in the field, hitting .351 with three doubles, two homers, three walks and just three strikeouts in Cactus League action.
During the first half of the season, Merrill slashed .288/.322/.452 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. He had 10 stolen bases and 40 runs scored while providing sterling defense in center field.
Merrill earned NL Rookie of the Month for June after hitting .320 with nine homers, 20 RBIs, seven doubles and 17 runs scored. He posted a .650 slugging percentage in 28 games and his 33 hits were the most in one month by a San Diego player aged 21 or younger since Tatis had 36 in August, 2020.
At 21 years and 88 days, Merrill was the youngest player to appear in the All-Star game since 2013. San Diego’s entire starting outfield was represented in the Midsummer Classic as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar were selected as starters via fan vote.
Merrill just got better and better as the season went along and was named NL Rookie of the Month for August as well after hitting .309 (30-for-99) with seven homers, 23 RBIs, five doubles and three triples. He also posted a .626 slugging percentage and .343 on-base percentage, while drawing seven walks, stealing five bases and scoring 18 runs.
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.