San Diego Padres Rookie Jackson Merrill Picks Up Historic Silver Slugger Win

Jackson Merrill capped off his incredible rookie season by winning a Silver Slugger Award, putting the San Diego Padres outfielder in the company of Ichiro Suzuki and Aaron Judge.

Oct 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (3) hits an RBI single in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 2 of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Jackson Merrill more than lived up to the hype with the San Diego Padres his rookie year, capping off 2024 with some major hardware.

The 21-year-old outfielder hit .292 with 24 home runs, 31 doubles, six triples, 90 RBI, 16 stolen bases, an .826 OPS and 4.4 WAR across 156 games this season. As a result, he was one of three National League outfielders who won a Silver Slugger Award on Tuesday night.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, there have now been 16 rookies who have won Silver Sluggers since the honor was introduced in 1980. Just five of those rookies were outfielders, with Merrill joining Julio Rodríguez, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Ichiro Suzuki.

Merrill is the second-youngest outfielder ever to win a Silver Slugger, coming in 107 days behind Trout. Fernando Valenzuela and Alex Rodriguez are the only other Silver Slugger winners who were younger than Merrill, per Langs, while Albert Pujols is now the fifth-youngest.

Jackson Merrill is only the 5th rookie outfielder to win a Silver Slugger 👀 pic.twitter.com/7qDJnk6Xux

— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2024

That is quite the company for Merrill to join, even though none of those players are currently in the Hall of Fame. Ichiro and Pujols are sure to be inducted in their first year of eligibility, while Alex Rodriguez would have made it had he not been tied to performance-enhancing drugs.

Any player who overlaps on lists with Trout and Judge should be in for a pretty impressive career, which is exactly what the Padres were hoping for when they made Merrill their starting center fielder on Opening Day.

The former top prospect and first round pick was also named a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year on Monday. He is going head-to-head with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes for that award, although Skenes has taken over as the favorite after being named a finalist for NL Cy Young.

Merrill is under contract with the Padres for five more seasons, putting him on pace to hit free agency at 26 years old. Given the trajectory his career has started on, San Diego's front office will certainly consider locking him down long-term this winter.

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