San Diego Padres' Prospect Could Be Ready to Join Elite Baseball History on Opening Day

If Jackson Merrill starts in centerfield on Opening Day this year for the San Diego Padres, he'll join a group in baseball history that includes only Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones.

San Diego Padres' top prospect Jackson Merrill is bidding to make some serious baseball history.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

Shortstop Jackson Merrill, the Padres’ No. 2 prospect, has been one of the most impressive players in the Cactus League this spring, scouts say, who believe that he can make the transition to be the San Diego Padres’ everyday center fielder.

He could become only the third player in the last 50 years to start in center field on opening day before the age of 21 in the past 50 years, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones.

Quite an accomplishment considering Merrill has never played a game at Triple A, and never a game in center field in his entire life, not even in Little League. 

To be linked at all with Griffey Jr. and Jones with regards to centerfield is obviously an incredible feat, and shows just how naturally gifted the 20-year-old is.

It's not a guarantee yet that he starts with the big club on Opening Day, but after the trade of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham left the Padres with only two outfielders on the 40-man roster, Merrill made the switch and is giving himself a chance.

Merrill is the No. 12 prospect in baseball entering the 2024 season. He hit .277 last season in the minor leagues with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases.

The following comes from his MLB.com prospect profile:

Batting from the left side, Merrill uses an all-fields approach to pepper the ballpark with base knocks while protecting the plate. He doesn’t whiff often for his age and experience with an 8.1 percent swinging-strike rate that ranked 10th-best among qualified full-season Minor Leaguers aged 20 or younger in 2023. He did a better job of elevating balls last season, cutting down his ground-ball rate from 59.6 percent to 42.5, and that helps the belief that he’ll settle into above-average power later in his 20s. 

The Padres open the season on March 20 in the two-game Korea Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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