Exactly A Month Between Games Hasn't Slowed Jackson Merrill

[Randy Holt]

Jackson Merrill was on fire to start the season.

Through 41 plate appearances in March & April, the sophomore outfielder was wRC+ing 202 courtesy of a .378/.415/.676 line that went along with a .297 ISO. Only a dozen players featured a better wRC+ through April 6th (the last game he played before his injury), and only eight carried more fWAR than Merrill's 0.6 mark in a minuscule sample.

Merrill was out from April 6th to May 6th. He returned to rainy weather in the Bronx against the New York Yankees and recorded a pair of hits, one of which was a double. The next night, he notched another two, one of which was a home run off Max Fried (who, if you're unaware, has been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball this year): 

Merrill spent his weekend in Colorado continuing to hit. He recorded three hits on Friday and another four in the 21-0 win on Saturday. After an illness held him out of the lineup on Sunday, he was at it again with three hits. While it was a game the Padres ended up losing (courtesy of a Robert Suárez blown save), Merrill was a star in all facets: 

The May returns include a .607 average, a .625 OBP, and a 337 wRC+. He's struck out at a lower rate than he did in March & April while providing slightly more on the power side (.304 ISO). Obviously it's a smaller sample. But the fact that he didn't skip a beat even with a month between Major League games speaks to the talent level the Padres currently possess in center field. 

Even without enough time to qualify, his Baseball Savant percentile distribution is a sight to behold. If you're fan of the color red, at least. That the Padres were able to weather the storm without such a key component of their lineup is reflective of the contributions they've been able to get elsewhere (on both sides of the ball). But having Jackson Merrill back in the mix is perhaps the most important development in recent days for a Padres team with no shortage of them. Especially as they begin the march toward a contender-heavy June.

View full article