Padres Rookie's Award Chances Boosted By His Rare Place in History

He's had a stellar rookie year.

Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

At this time last year, San Diego Padres rookie Jackson Merrill was competing in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. One year later, and he's made the MLB All-Star team as a rookie.

On its own, this is a tremendous accomplishment. It's also an accomplishment that has often led to an even bigger honor — the Rookie of the Year Award. Ten of the last 14 players to go from the Futures Game to the All-Star game as a rookie wound up winning the Rookie of the Year award, per Baseball America.

Merrill is certainly a strong contender for the National League Rookie of the Year award. So far this season he is slashing .281/.314/.440 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. He was previously the NL Rookie of the Month in June, hitting .320/.346/.650 with nine home runs and 20 RBIs during his best month of the year so far.

Unlike the other former Rookie of the Year winners, Merrill has the challenge of competing with Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes for the award. Skenes rose through the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization so quickly, he wasn't even in the minor leagues long enough to compete in the Futures Game.

If the National League rookie race comes down to Merrill vs. Skenes, it'll be tough for the Padres' outfielder to sway national voters. Skenes was one of the most talented pitching prospects coming out of college, and has delivered on his promise to start his major league career so far. To this point, Skenes is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 11 starts. He pitched a near no-hitter on Thursday but was pulled after the seventh inning, and has the second best ERA among starters in the league. Tuesday, he'll start the All-Star Game for the National League.

It will take an incredible second half of the season for Merrill to win the award over Skenes, but he is still in the midst of a great regular season either way.