Fastball

San Diego Padres Rookie Has the Sickest Bat For MLB Players Weekend

With MLB Players Weekend beginning on Friday night, Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres is showing off his personality in a big way.

Brady Farkas

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) tosses his bat after flying out against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Petco Park on April 12.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) tosses his bat after flying out against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Petco Park on April 12. / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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On Friday, baseball will commence with "Players Weekend," which is set to help bring a different level of fun and personality to the sport.

Paired with the playing of the "Little League Classic" in Williamsport, the weekend is supposed to help get more eyeballs on the sport and help attract a younger audience. It all culminates on Sunday when the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees play a game in Williamsport, Penn. in front of the Little League World Series teams and their families in a minor league stadium.

While only two teams are playing in the Little League Classic, everyone is still having some fun for the special weekend, including San Diego Padres rookie Jackson Merrill.

The rookie, who will be in the running for Rookie of the Year, is apparently busting out an incredible lightsaber-themed bat for the weekend.

Per the @MLB account on "X:"

Jackson Merrill has a glow-in-dark Star Wars lightsaber bat for

Both Merrill and the Padres will hope that this bat has as many hits in it as all his other bats do. The 21-year-old Maryland native is hitting a robust .288 this year with 17 homers and 66 RBI. While he's not Juan Soto, he's helped to mitigate the loss of Soto from the Padres lineup.

He's got an OPS of .801 and an OPS+ of 123, both of which are very solid - especially for a 21-year-old.

Furthermore, the Padres enter the weekend at 69-53 and just 2.0 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

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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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