How GOOD is Jackson Merrill Actually?

Jackson Merill got down 0 and two but drives in the go-ahead run for San Diego and a little Merill madness here in Milwaukee as the Padre's lead it 6 to3 the national league rookie who's been stealing all the headlines this season has been Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul SK because of sk's Blazing fastball insane string of stat lines and social media celebrity girlfriend mini Baseball fans believe he's set to be the consensus winner for the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year award but real Baseball fans who follow Advanced player performance analysis know that a rookie outfielder on the San Diego Padres is not only giving skin a run for his money for that prestigious award but is even being deemed a favorite to win Rookie of the Year as a result of his Superior season we're talking of course about Jackson Merill this 21-year-old has been taking the MLB by storm all season long and even earned himself a roster spot at the 2024 All-Star Game his meteoric rise has caught the attention of both fantasy baseball and Enthusiast and even MLB Sports betters but because Merill was a relatively unknown name before this season some fans are wondering whether he's truly as good as his impressive stats and resulting hype would make it seem this is why we're here to give you all the information on Jackson Merill you need to decide how good he actually is and whether his 2024 success is here to stay before we dive into Merrill's professional baseball career let's discuss his upbringing to see how he reached this point understanding a player's background and development can often provide key insights into their potential future performance Merill was born on April 29th 2003 in Baltimore Maryland but he was raised in Severina Park Maryland which is a Suburban town about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore Merl's parents are his mom Jenny and his dad Joshua both of them are School teachers and have been extremely supportive of their son throughout his baseball journey and they know how serious Jackson was about playing this sport when he wrote that his dream was to play baseball in the major leagues when he was just in fifth grade Merrill's dad also coach Jackson in baseball from his days playing t-ball all the way until he turned 16 Jackson also has an older brother named Josh who is 12 years older than Jackson and helped instill competitiveness and a desire to win within him Merill who despite being born and raised in Baltimore was a fan of the Boston Red Sox growing up attended sna Park High School where he played both baseball and varsity soccer his Elite athleticism and natural Talent especially as a left-handed hitter standing 6' 3 in tall made it clear he was more physically cut out to continue pursuing his dream of playing professional baseball Jackson made waves during his 2021 High School season after he hit 500 with 39 RBIs and 13 home runs which tied a School record for a single year this success enabled Merill to lead his high school team to a 17-1 record and a runnerup finish in the state championship all while playing on a sprained ankle that he refused to miss any playing time from as a result Merill won the 2021 Capital Gazette Player of the Year award in Maryland marking him as a top prospect in college baseball recruiting rankings Merill was clearly a division 1 caliber baseball player and he initially committed to play college baseball for the Army Black Knights during his junior year unfortunately this junior season was cancelled due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic Merill used this time away from the field in the waight room and ended up putting on nearly 30 lbs of muscle that enabled him to hit with much more power showcasing his potential as a power hitter because he hadn't signed his nli or national letter of intent with army quite yet he decided to switch his commitment to the University of Kentucky instead hey before we continue if you're enjoying this video then please be sure to leave a like and also hit that subscribe button if you want to learn more about sum of baseball's most fascinating players and top prospects Merill switching his commitment from the Army to Kentucky ended up not mattering because he was drafted at a high school by the San Diego Padres with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft his draft position and signing bonus highlight the Padre's belief in his potential as a future star in Major League Baseball while Merill did consider turning down this opportunity and heading to Kentucky instead the $1.8 million signing bonus the Padre's offered him was enough to convince him to realize his dream of going pro his decision to go straight to the professional ranks is paid off handsomely as he quickly became one of the top prospects in the Padre's farm system after signing with San Diego it didn't take long for Merill to Skyrocket through the minor leagues reflecting his status as a high upside talent in baseball development pipelines Merill started his professional career by being assigned to the rookie level Arizona complex League Padres over 31 games and 107 at bats taken during that 2021 season Merill / 280 339 and 383 with seven doubles 10 RBIs 10 walks and 27 strikeouts these numbers provided early evidence of his plate discipline and potential for growth as a hitter after spending the offseason sharpening his skill set and adding some more power to his frame Merill began the 2022 season with the lake Elenor storm of the single a California League this is where Merill cemented himself as a top prospect for the Padres in 45 games with Lake Elenor he hit 325 387 482 with five home runs 34 RBI and eight stolen bases if you play Fantasy Baseball his performance has made him a favorite pick among Fantasy Baseball managers looking for emerging Talent now considered one of the best young players in the Padre's organization Merl split the 2023 season between San Diego's High a Fort Wayne tin caps affiliate and their daa San Antonio Missions team over 114 total games played Merl slashed an impressive 277 326 and 444 with 15 home runs 64 RBI and 15 stolen bases showcasing his ability to hit for both average and power a key characteristic of a five2 player after th driving during the 2024 spring training with San Diego the Padre's decided to have Merill start the season on their big league Squad Merill made his major league debut the following day against the LA Dodgers in Soul South Korea his first MLB hit came one day later on March 21st and his first home run was smacked against the Cardinals on April 1st his rapid progression to the majors was closely watched by those tracking MLB Rookie of the Year candidates this blast kickstarted what has been an extraordinary rookie camp campaign for him through August 25th Merill Bast a 288 batting average with a 807 Ops 19 home runs 72 RBIs and 13 stolen bases he's blossomed into an integral part of San Diego's lineup and is now considered a core component to the franchise's future plans making him a top discussion Point among baseball analysts and sports betting experts mlb.com's 2023 Prospect report for Merill conveys a blueprint for what has made him so successful in his young career his b bed approach of the plate and ability to hit to all Fields has been crucial in his development as a hitter Merill showed a promising mix of discipline and an all Fields approach in the early stages of his career and took those to the next level everywhere he played in 2022 to prove the point his pole 38.5% and opposite field at 39.1% rates were nearly equal at Lake Elenor he should still add muscle as he matures and could grow into above average power at his major league Peak especially if he starts to elevate batted balls more The Next Step will be keeping Merill on the field for a full campaign after last year's injury concerns and if he does that the Padre could be even more ecstatic that he was the bigname prospect that kept around following the WAN stto blockbuster trade Merill has remained healthy and San Diego is surely ecstatic with his progress viewing him as a potential future MVP candidate are you a Jackson Merill fan if so be sure to leave a comment on this video to tell us what your favorite play of his rookie season has been thus far and subscribe so you don't miss any MLB updates and player profile reports but a Scouting Report can only do so much to tell us just how good Jackson Merill actually is this is why we'll also be taking a closer look at some of his best assets and statistics this season to get a better idea of what the hype is all about and whether he truly deserves NL rookie of the year instead of Paul SK people in the sports Community love talking about a player's clutch Gene what they mean by saying this is that some people have the ability to perform better under pressure than the vast majority of their peers for a hitter in baseball this typically means that a player can come through for their team and deliver a big hit in the ninth inning or in extras and in that case Jackson Merill has proven himself to have an extraordinary clutch Gene a crucial trade for any player looking to be considered for MLB awards in 14 plate appearances trailing by a run in the ninth inning Merill is hitting 583 with a walk and five home runs as of August 27th Merill has six produc game tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later this season five of which came in the ninth inning or later nobody else in the MLB has more than three of those this season aside from Merill and the most recent of these home runs might have been the most impressive of all Merill stepped up to the plate in the ninth inning of a 2-2 game against the New York Mets on August 25th pitching for the Mets was closer Edwin Diaz who's been one of baseball's most elite relievers in the past decade however that didn't stop Merill from depositing a 20 slider into Petco Park's right field bleachers for a walk-off solo home run to win the game for a squad his performance under pressure has made him a key figure in sports betting markets focused on rookie performance after the game Merill told reporters I know I'm going to get something to hit I don't think he wants to walk anybody I was just kind of looking for something in the middle he gave me a little bit with a slider right down the middle it just happened again he added it's insane to think that despite being just 21 years old Merill is already among MLB's most clutch hitters a fact that strong significant interest from fantasy sports communities and MLB player evaluators to Dick deeper in the ninth inning alone he's 11 for 32 with a 1.22 Ops with five home runs and two walk-off home runs as of August 27th and his prowess at the plate isn't the only aspect that impresses about Merl's game his defensive metrics have also been outstanding while Merill has only played center field for the Padre's he spent much of his life playing playing shortstop and this experience playing what's arguably baseball's toughest position in the field aside from pitcher and catcher set Merill up for Success once he took his talents to the Outfield baseball Savant which includes up-to-date Advanced metrics for every MLB player along with their percentile rankings of how they Stack Up in numerous statistics with their colleagues in hitting pitching base running and Fielding shows that Merill has been one of baseball's best center fielders this season his Fielding run value is in the 87th percentile compared to other center field ERS and Stat cast has measured that he saved a total of six runs for the Padre's this season due to his defense he's also produced seven more outs above average this year which puts him in the 93rd percentile among fellow center fielders how's that for acclimating to a relatively new position quickly his defensive metrics make him a Hot Topic in advanced baseball discussions another common phrase that gets thrown around among Baseball fans and Scouts these days is a five tool player this phrase is used for a player who excels at the five main physical tools in baseball hitting for average in power speed throwing and Fielding true five tool players are rare even at baseball's highest level but there's no question that Merill is exactly that we've already discussed four of Merl's Elite tools but what about the fifth we haven't yet gotten into we're talking about base running which crazily enough is the tool that Merill might be the most elite at Merill currently has 14 stolen bases in the 2024 season while this is a solid statistic it doesn't rank very highly among the rest of the MLB but what people often forget about base running is that there's much more that goes into it than just stealing bases when on base players must make multiple Split Second decisions that if chosen wrong or with hesitation are often the difference between being safe and getting called out on a game-changing play his ability to make these decisions highlights his potential value in game strategy discussions and baseball betting lines baseball Savant notes Merill as being in the 998th percentile in terms of overall base running run value this proves that he's one of the very best base runners in all of baseball which is made even more impressive because he's just a rookie and success on the base paths often comes down to decision-making which is often a byproduct of experience now that we provided you with Jackson Merrill's baseball background his impressive Ascent to Major League Baseball the diagnosis of his clutch Gene and all the other metrics he excels at compared to his peers will leave you to decide for yourself how good this guy actually is although if you were to ask us we'd say that Paul sk's better pitch to near Perfection down the stretch this season if he wants to that NL Rookie of the Year award we appreciate your support and from all of us at the yak fam thanks for making us part of your day