San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill Moves Up Franchise's All-Time Rookie Leaderboards

Jackson Merrill drove in three runs in the San Diego Padres' win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday, giving him 69 RBI so far in his standout rookie season.

Aug 19, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates after hitting an RBI double during the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Petco Park. / Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson Merrill has enjoyed quite the debut campaign thus far in 2024, and that continued Monday night against the Minnesota Twins.

The San Diego Padres center fielder may have only gone 1-for-4 at the plate, but his one hit was a critical one. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning, the score tied 2-2, it was up to Merrill to put his team on top.

After going down in the count 0-2, Merrill roped a line drive to center and cleared the bases. The three-RBI double gave San Diego a 5-2 lead, and they would go on to win 5-3.

Merrill is now batting .290 with 17 home runs, 69 RBI, 13 stolen bases, an .805 OPS and a 3.4 WAR on the season. The 21-year-old is one of the leading contenders to win NL Rookie of the Year, alongside Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio and Shota Imanaga.

According to TSN's StatsCentre, Merrill now has the third-most RBI by a rookie in Padres franchise history. He entered Monday tied for third with Nate Colbert and Carmelo Martinez, who were rookies in 1969 and 1984, respectively.

Merrill is just five RBI behind Kevin Kouzmanoff's 2007 season for second place on the leaderboards. Benito Santiago set the record in 1987 and holds onto it to this day, having racked up 79 RBI in his rookie year.

At his current pace, Merrill is on track to break that mark and finish 2024 with 88 RBI.

Most RBI in a season - Rookie with the @Padres franchise (1969-present):
79- Benito Santiago (1987)
74- Kevin Kouzmanoff (2007)
69- Jackson Merrill (2024 via his 3-run double in Monday's 5-3 win vs MIN)
66- Nate Colbert (1969)
66- Carmelo Martinez (1984)
65- Khalil Greene (2004) pic.twitter.com/8x7HkmaMXX

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) August 20, 2024

Merrill and the Padres will square off with the Twins again on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET.

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