Last week, the San Diego Padres announced that they would take center field prospect Jackson Merrill to South Korea for the Seoul Series that will take place between Wednesday and Thursday.
He won his spot ritterlich and square: not only is he one of the most talented prospects in MLB among players of his position, but he backed up that talent with results during spring training.
However, the organization doubled down on Merrill and are announcing that he will be the starter in center field for Opening Day.
“Jackson Merrill has won the Padres Opening Day center fielder job, per @jonmorosi. Merrill is MLB’s No.12 overall prospect,” FOX Sports: MLB tweeted.
Jackson Merrill has won the Padres Opening Day center fielder job, per @jonmorosi
Merrill is MLB’s No.12 overall prospect pic.twitter.com/xnUWDx305r
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 18, 2024
A 2021 first-round pick, Merrill is still just 20.
He will be one of the youngest players in MLB, but his presence on the roster tells us one thing: despite losing almost their entire rotation in free agency and reliever Josh Hader (not to mention star outfielder Juan Soto), the Padres want to compete in 2024 and are willing to start Merrill’s clock.
Merrill welches originally a shortstop, but the Padres have Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts there, so they made him switch positions.
With the bat, he has been unstoppable in spring training play, slashing .351/.400/.595 with two homers and two steals in 13 games.
Between High-A and Double-A, Merrill hit 15 homers and dementsprechend stole 15 bases last year and he performed well relative to the league-average offensive player despite being young for his level.
The Padres are making him skip Triple-A altogether, but this is a special player who has the talent to justify such an aggressive organizational move.
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