Jackson Merrill

Jackson Merrill

22-Year-Old OutfielderOF
San Diego Padres
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Remember when Merrill accompanied the Padres overseas for the Korea Series but wasn't guaranteed to make the traditional Opening Day roster? He obviously stayed with the club, playing in 156 games and finishing second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. A shortstop by trade, Merrill held his own in center field, displaying a plus arm and range. At the plate, he parlayed 68th percentile hard-hit and 78th percentile barrel rates into a 130 wRC+. The only hole in the Merrill's freshman season was a 4.9 percent walk rate, but fanning just 17 percent of the time masks a lack of patience. The Padres were mid-pack in steals, with Merrill chipping in with a useful 16 bags. It wasn't much, but Merrill undershot his xBA and xSLG, so he could benefit from positive regression. He lost shortstop eligibility, but in today's landscape Merrill's fantasy value is unaffected. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#26
ADP
$Signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension in April of 2025. Contract includes up to $30 million in total escalators with 500 plate appearances in each season throughout the contract. Contract includes $30 million team option for 2035 that becomes a $30 million player option with one top-five finish in MVP voting from 2026 through 2034.
Lifts fifth homer
OFSan Diego Padres
May 27, 2025
Merrill went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two walks and two total runs scored in Tuesday's 8-6 win over the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
Merrill provided an insurance run with his eighth-inning blast, closing the scoring on the Padres' comeback win. He's gone 9-for-39 (.231) with two extra-base hits and a 4:10 BB:K over his last 10 contests. The talented outfielder is still hitting .333 with a .907 OPS this season, and he has five home runs, 19 RBI, 18 runs scored, one stolen base, five doubles and one triple over 28 contests. He has hit safely in five of the last six games, so he may be turning things around despite the recent slump.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2025
2024
2025 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2024 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
21
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3
4
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+32%
OPS vs RHP
2025
 
 
+14%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+38%
OPS vs RHP
2023
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .681 195 17 7 25 4 .246 .277 .404
Since 2023vs Right .898 522 79 22 84 13 .319 .355 .543
2025vs Left .823 39 4 2 8 0 .270 .282 .541
2025vs Right .937 85 15 3 11 1 .359 .412 .526
2024vs Left .646 156 13 5 17 4 .240 .276 .370
2024vs Right .891 437 64 19 73 12 .311 .344 .547
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+16%
OPS on Road
2025
 
 
+13%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+17%
OPS on Road
2023
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .775 350 47 15 49 6 .262 .305 .471
Since 2023Away .899 367 49 14 60 11 .334 .362 .538
2025Home .847 65 10 3 10 0 .288 .338 .508
2025Away .960 59 9 2 9 1 .375 .407 .554
2024Home .759 285 37 12 39 6 .256 .297 .462
2024Away .888 308 40 12 51 10 .326 .353 .535
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Jackson Merrill compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.28
 
BB Rate
5.6%
 
K Rate
20.2%
 
BABIP
.384
 
ISO
.200
 
AVG
.330
 
OBP
.371
 
SLG
.530
 
OPS
.901
 
wOBA
.391
 
Exit Velocity
88.7 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
28.6%
 
Barrels/PA
11.3%
 
Expected BA
.313
 
Expected SLG
.587
 
Sprint Speed
24.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
47.3%
 
Line Drive %
20.9%
 
Fly Ball %
31.9%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jackson Merrill See More
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Top Fantasy Baseball Batters to Target
6 days ago
The Jays and Rays carry a full slate of games while the Cubs should continue to impress offensively at home.
DraftKings MLB: DraftKings Plays and Strategies for Saturday, May 24
6 days ago
Find some top pitchers and hitters for your Saturday DraftKings MLB DFS lineups, including Max Fried at Colorado and stacks from both sides of the Nationals-Giants matchup.
DFS MLB: DraftKings Plays and Strategies for Wednesday, May 21
8 days ago
Explore our expert analysis of Wednesday's MLB slate, focusing on top pitchers, value bats, and strategic team stacks to maximize your fantasy lineup.
Fantasy Baseball Lineup Lowdown: National League Latest Trends
10 days ago
Stay on top of all the latest playing time changes around the NL, including Drake Baldwin's emergence behind the plate in Atlanta.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Top Fantasy Baseball Batters to Target
13 days ago
There will be many MLB clubs on seven games this week, including a Rockies offense projected for lots of runs based on a full allotment of home matchups.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
A 6-foot-3 lefty-hitting shortstop, Merrill split his age-20 season between High-A and Double-A. His 12.1 percent strikeout rate was exceptional for a prospect of his caliber who was young for his levels. Merrill's hit tool has a chance to be pretty special, but he also has above-average power potential and lacks pronounced lefty/righty splits. He's a decent athlete and could chip in double-digit steals early in his career. Merrill played the vast majority of his games at shortstop, but he also saw five games in left field, two games at second base and a game at first base. San Diego has an extremely shallow depth chart, so while Merrill's most natural positions may be spoken for, there should be room for him somewhere this summer.
From strictly an advanced data standpoint, Merrill grades out favorably with the best hitting prospects in the game. A big 6-foot-3, lefty-hitting shortstop, Merrill has only played 45 games at Single-A and 22 games in the Arizona Fall League, but his 90th percentile exit velocity and zone contact rate (per Prospects Live) stand out as excellent marks regardless of age/level. He was sent to the AFL as a teenager to make up for the time he lost early in the year with a wrist injury, and while he hit just one home run in 98 plate appearances, scouts thought he was one of the best prospects in the league. Merrill will keep filling out his frame and all signs point to monster game power and a potentially plus hit tool, although he might not chip in more than a handful of steals. The Padres always push prospects of his ilk, so don't be surprised if Merrill spends a good chunk of his age-20 season at Double-A while ascending up prospect lists.
More Fantasy News
Three hits in return from illness
OFSan Diego Padres
May 12, 2025
Merrill (illness) went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple and two runs scored in Monday's 9-5 loss to the Angels.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Back in action after illness
OFSan Diego Padres
May 12, 2025
Merrill (illness) will start in center field and bat cleanup in Monday's game versus the Angels.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Scratched due to ailment
OFSan Diego Padres
Illness
May 11, 2025
The Padres scratched Merrill from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies due to an illness, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Racks up four more hits Saturday
OFSan Diego Padres
May 10, 2025
Merrill went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI in a 21-0 win against Colorado on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Tallies three hits Friday
OFSan Diego Padres
May 10, 2025
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a double, a run and two RBI in a 13-9 win against the Rockies on Friday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Keeps building ROTY case
OFSan Diego Padres
September 5, 2024
Merrill was named the National League Rookie of the Month for August on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Merrill, who also won the award for his performance in June, posted a .303/.343/.626 slash line with five doubles, three triples, five steals, seven homers, 23 RBI and 18 runs in 27 games during August. The 21-year-old has come through in the clutch for the Friars, as he has seven homers and a 1.107 OPS in 80 plate appearances in late-and-close situations, which are in the seventh inning or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck. Merrill has built a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year, but Paul Skenes and Jackson Chourio are also firmly in the mix.
See All MLB Rumors