Padres' Jackson Merrill is Taking His Plate Approach to New Heights

The rookie center fielder is doing something at the plate almost no one else can.

Sep 1, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (3) hits a 2-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

For most major league rookies, their first year in the big leagues comes with an obvious adjustment period. If the change to their swing, their body language, or something doesn't jump out visually to fans, the adjustment will be revealed in their numbers.

Padres rookie Jackson Merrill appears to be the exception to the rule.

A shortstop in the minor leagues, Merrill surprised many by claiming the Padres' starting center field job on Opening Day. He's hit so well since, Padres manager Mike Shildt hasn't been able to take him out of a lineup that leads the National League in batting average.

Recently, the question has been why Shildt doesn't move Merrill higher in the order.

Merrill's slash lines by month reveal a high floor for offensive production, and a ceiling that perhaps hasn't been touched five months into his career:

	Batting average	On-base percent	Slugging percent
March/April	.280	.336	.360
May	.279	.296	.361
June	.320	.346	.651
July	.259	.278	.412
August	.303	.343	.626

The consistency — and recent surge — in Merrill's production now has him increasingly being mentioned among the National League Rookie of the Year award frontrunners. One month remains in the regular season, so any debate around who should win the award is premature. Merrill and the other candidates still have a month to polish their resumes for the prestigious award.

One question we can attempt to resolve now: what is the secret to Merrill's consistency?

A new report from FanGraphs suggests a simple answer: pitchers haven't figured out how to get him out. Among the more compelling reasons why is Merrill's unique ability to hit any pitch regardless of its height.

Writes Esteban Rivera:

To effectively cover pitches at different heights in the strike zone, a hitter has to vary the angle of their bat relative to the ground to create lift. To hit a pitch at the top of the zone for a line drive, the bat should be flatter, and to lift a pitch at the bottom of the zone for a line drive, the bat should be steeper. It’s a simple concept that some hitters can execute with more consistency than others. Jackson Merrill is one of those guys.

- Esteban Rivera, via FanGraphs.com

According to Rivera, Merrill is a top-30 hitter in MLB in expected weighted on-base average on pitches at the top of the strike zone, the middle, and the lower-third.

"His ability to go down and get it with the best of them while still covering the top of the strike zone," Rivera writes, "is the key to his success so early in his career."

Merrill's success this deep into the season, with hardly a slump to show for it, suggest his ability to hit pitches at different heights well is a repeatable skill that will serve him — and the Padres — for years. Merrill homered Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, his 21st of the season.