The San Diego Padres’ hot start to the 2026 season is exactly what Padres fans needed in order to boost their excitement for the season. The team has reeled off five consecutive series wins and overcame an early 2-5 record, as they now have the third-best record in all of Major League Baseball.
The team has done this without overwhelming offensive production out of their superstar players. Fernando Tatis Jr. has yet to hit a home run this season, and he currently carries a .644 OPS, which is below league-average. Manny Machado, who despite showing some strong plate discipline, has a career-low .186 batting average. Additionally, Jackson Merrill, who seemed poised for a bounce back after an injury-riddled sophomore slump, also carries a below-league average OPS.
Fortunately for Merrill, he has made up for a lack of offensive production with some stellar defensive plays. And most recently, he was rewarded by MLB for perhaps the most impressive play of his young career.
MLB Announces News on San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill
Major League Baseball announced that San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill had won the Play of the Week for his home run robbery of Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez.
The play occurred during Wednesday, April 15, contest with Seattle as the Padres won a dramatic 7-6 game. At the time of the home run robbery, Seattle was leading 2-0 in the top of the third inning. Had Merrill not brought the fly ball back, Seattle would have taken an early 4-0 lead.
While the play was impressive in its own right, it was only made more important by Merrill’s heroics once again late in the game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and San Diego down one run, Merrill hit a walk-off double to secure the win for the Padres.
Regarding his home run robbery earlier in the game, Merrill said, “One hundred percent, that’s the best catch I’ve ever made.” Manager Craig Stammen added, “Play of the game. That kept us in it.” Not only did the play end up being the play of the game, but the play of the week.
Jackson Merrill’s Season
Merrill’s defensive brilliance has not been just that one instance. In San Diego’s most recent series against the Los Angeles Angels, Merrill once again robbed a home run. He said, “Just a normal day in center. Just see the ball, go up, try and go catch it.”
According to Fangraphs, Merrill has been +2 in fielding run value this season, while also being among the top baserunners in the league. However, the production with his bat has not come as expected. The good news is that he may be getting unlucky, as the young center fielder has underperformed his expected numbers. His wOBA is .293, while his xWOBA is .325, which means his raw numbers don’t reflect his quality of contact.
Unfortunately, his expected numbers are also the lowest of his career. Perhaps a factor for that is Merrill is currently chasing pitches outside of the strike zone at the highest rate of his career.
MLB Announces News on Padres’ Jackson Merrill Before Rockies Series