Padres Top Prospect Has a Chance to Turn Heads in Spring Training
The San Diego Padres are only a couple of days away from the start of spring training. Padre baseball is almost back, and even though this season doesn't hold much promise, anything can happen in baseball.
Things will kick off on Thursday against their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. We'll be looking at a ton of Padre players who will look to take the next leap in their careers.
MLB.com writers Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo looked at one prospect from each team to watch this season. For the Friars, they picked baseball's number-12 prospect, shortstop Jackson Merrill.
Padres: Jackson Merrill, SS (MLB No. 12)
Merrill made news Tuesday when he said he’d been working out at shortstop, second base, left field and center in the offseason in the hopes of competing for a Major League spot. The 6-foot-3 left-handed slugger has the near-plus-plus hit tool that could translate to the top level, though he likely needs more than 46 games of Double-A experience first. Then again, San Diego does like to be aggressive with its top prospects, and Merrill fits the bill.
All signs point to Merrill becoming the player the organization hopes he'll be. He's only 20 years old and was drafted by the Padres in the 2021 draft with the 27th overall pick.
He possesses all the tools on offense to be an elite hitter. He uses an all-field approach to hit baseballs all over the diamond. His minor league numbers — .295/.347/.455 with a .802 OPS, 21 home runs and 114 RBIs over 200 games — merely affirm his potential.
Currently, Merrill is a non-roster invitee in the Padres' major league spring training camp. If all goes well this spring, he could put himself in position for a midseason call-up.
