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San Diego Padres OF Just Became Youngest Player to Appear in All-Star Game in 11 Years

By getting into the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill carved out a cool slice of recent baseball history.

Brady Farkas

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) connects for a double against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field July 3.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) connects for a double against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field July 3. / Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
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San Diego Padres youngster Jackson Merrill claimed his own slice of recent baseball history on Tuesday night during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Per @StatsCentre on social media (note placed before the game):

A National League reserve, rookie sensation Jackson Merrill is the youngest player on either roster for the #MLBAllStarGame later tonight. If he draws into game action, he'll be the youngest of any MLB'er to participate since 2013 and become the youngest on this @Padres list too

So Merrill is the youngest player to appear in the All-Star Game since 2013 and the youngest Padre ever, surpassing Fernando Tatis in 2021.

Merrill entered the game in relief of Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and acquitted himself well, going 1-for-2 in the National League's loss. It's been a great year for Merrill, who became an outfielder in spring training to help the Padres after they traded Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. The 21-year-old is hitting .278 with 12 homers and 46 RBI. He's a major reason why the Padres are currently 50-49 and only 1.0 game back in the National League wild card race.

He pairs with Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth to make an exciting nucleus of position player. Furthermore, All-Star Jurickson Profar has been a massive part of the team's success this year, even after they traded Soto to the Yankees.

With the All-Star Game now behind us, the Padres will open up the second half of the season on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. ET. They'll take on the Cleveland Guardians, who currently lead the American League Central.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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