Merrill went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Dodgers.
Merrill has homered in consecutive contests and has hit safely in six of his last seven games. The outfielder has provided more all-around quality lately, going 20-for-83 (.241) with seven extra-base hits and eight stolen bases over his last 20 games. Overall, he's batting .215 with a .634 OPS, 10 homers, 18 steals, 33 RBI, 38 runs scored, 15 doubles and one triple over 84 contests.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Snaps power drought Thursday
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's defeat against the Dodgers.
Merrill was part of a big early surge by San Diego, as his second-inning long ball contributed one of the six runs his team scored over the first two innings. The homer was his first over his past 13 contests and accounted for just his second RBI over that span. It's been a rough season for Merrill, who entered the campaign with high expectations but is slashing just 212/.271/.349 with nine homers, 36 runs and 31 RBI through 83 games. He's at least managed to be a strong contributor of stolen bases, as he's swiped a career-high 18 bags on 19 attempts so far.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Notches another steal
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Merrill has gone 14-for-55 (.255) over his last 13 games, a span that includes seven steals. The outfielder wasn't running all that much early in the season -- he's up to 17 thefts on 18 attempts now, but he has picked up the pace in the last couple of weeks. He's batting .212 with a .618 OPS, eight home runs, 31 RBI, 35 runs scored, 15 doubles and one triple over 79 games on the season.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Picking up pace on basepaths
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two stolen bases Saturday in a 6-4 extra-inning win against Texas.
Merrill twice got himself into scoring position by knocking a single and following with a stolen base, but San Diego couldn't drive him in either time. The 23-year-old has been using his speed more often of late -- he has four steals across his past six games following an 18-game stretch with no steals on only one attempt. Merrill has also been swinging the bat well, slashing .304/.319/.522 with five extra-base hits (including two homers) and seven RBI over his past 10 contests.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Fills stat sheet in win
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Cardinals.
Merrill put an exclamation point on a three-hit effort with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, notching a homer and a steal in the same game for the second time this season. The 23-year-old is showing some signs of life at the plate, going deep twice in his past five contests while tallying multiple hits in four of his past eight. On the season, he's slashing .213/.277/.358 with eight home runs, 30 RBI, 32 runs scored and 12 stolen bases across 294 plate appearances.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Contributes homer Saturday
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk versus the Orioles in Saturday's 9-3 win.
Merrill opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning. That was the initial salvo in what would become a five-homer day for San Diego's offense. The long ball was Merrill's second in what has been a rough June so far, as he's slashing just .178/.229/.378 through 11 contests this month. However, four of his eight knocks during that stretch have gone for extra bases, and his 20.8 percent strikeout rate in June is an improvement on his 24.2 percent mark overall on the campaign.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Adds sixth homer
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Phillies.
Merrill made things interesting in the ninth inning with his two-run blast off lefty Jose Alvarado, cutting San Diego's deficit to 6-4. It's the sixth homer of the year for Merrill, who's gone 9-for-26 (.308) with a pair of long balls and a .956 OPS in his last seven games. After a slow start to the season, Merrill is now slashing .207/.280/.341 with 24 RBI, 27 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Pulled early Wednesday
Rotowire
Merrill was removed from Wednesday's game against the Dodgers with an apparent back injury, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
The young outfielder appeared to tweak something while trying to rob Shohei Ohtani's home run in the first inning, and Merrill was later taken out of the game at the start of the fifth. The Padres will likely send him for imaging to determine the specifics of his injury. If he has to miss any time, Bryce Johnson would be in line to pick up starts in center field.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Not in Thursday's lineup
Rotowire
Merrill is out of the lineup for Thursday's series finale against Milwaukee.
The lefty-swinging Merrill is sitting out for the final game of the series against the Brewers as San Diego faces southpaw Kyle Harrison. Merrill went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Wednesday and has gone 2-for-22 over his past six contests. The 23-year-old will most likely be back in the starting lineup Friday as San Diego heads to Seattle to take on right-hander Emerson Hancock in the series opener.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Big performance from top of lineup
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 10-5 win over the Giants.
He's gone 8-for-17 (.471) over four contests in May, adding a home run, three RBI and two steals. Merrill was atop the lineup for just the second time all season, as Ramon Laureano was given the day off Tuesday. Merrill's recent hitting should help him turn his season around. Even with the hot stretch, he's at a .235 average and .673 OPS for the year. The outfielder has added four homers, seven steals, 18 RBI, 22 runs scored and seven doubles over 34 contests.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Merrill is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the White Sox on Friday.
Merrill has struggled at the plate as of late, having gone 4-for-42 (.095) with one steal, two RBI and a 37.5 percent strikeout rate over his last 11 games. He'll take a seat for Friday's series opener while Bryce Johnson gets the start in center field and bats ninth.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Notches fifth steal
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-3 with a walk, one RBI and one stolen base in Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the Rockies.
Merrill opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning. Prior to Wednesday, he had gone 0-for-16 with 10 strikeouts over his previous four games. The outfielder has run streaky early in 2026, leading to a lackluster .217/.280/.380 slash line over 101 plate appearances. He's added three home runs, 14 RBI, 15 runs scored, six doubles and five stolen bases across 24 contests.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Riding pine Saturday
Rotowire
Merrill isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox.
Merrill doesn't typically step out of the lineup against left-handed starters, but after a 5-for-27 (.185) start to the season, he'll sit on the bench, with Connelly Early on the mound for Boston. Bryce Johnson will pick up a start in center field as a result and bat ninth.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Pops homer to conclude postseason
Rotowire
Merrill went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series.
Merrill accounted for the Padres' only run in their loss to the Cubs by leading off the ninth inning with a home run. He had a disappointing regular season but ended the campaign well, tallying eight home runs with 18 RBI and 18 runs scored across his final 22 games -- including the postseason.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Swats homer in loss Wednesday
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Merrill accounted for San Diego's only run with a 344-foot solo shot to left field in the sixth inning. The second-year outfielder has picked up his power of late, belting six home runs over his past 12 games. Merrill is batting .306 during that span with 11 runs scored and eight RBI, although he's also struck out at a 29.4 percent clip.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Lifts 12th homer
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 11-3 win over the Rockies.
Merrill has three homers among eight hits over his last seven games, though he's also struck out nine times in that span. Nonetheless, the outfielder appears to have regained some power that was largely absent for much of the of the campaign. He's now at 12 homers, 57 RBI, 48 runs scored, one stolen base and a .257/.313/.432 slash line through 103 games this season.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: First homer since IL stint
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored during Sunday's 8-1 win over the Rockies.
The Padres reinstated Merrill from the 10-day injured list Monday, and the center fielder went 1-for-13 with four strikeouts in his first five games. He broke out of the slump in a major way Sunday, delivering a pair of extra-base hits, including a second-inning home run off Tanner Gordon. The long ball was Merrill's 10th in 406 plate appearances this season, which falls well short of his 2024 pace of 24 home runs in 593 plate appearances.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Activated, not starting Monday
Rotowire
The Padres activated Merrill (ankle) from the 10-day injured list, but he'll remain out of the lineup for Monday's series opener versus the Orioles.
Merrill missed the past two weeks of action with a left ankle sprain, but he will bypass a rehab assignment and go directly back onto the Padres' active roster. Ramon Laureano has been filling in in center field in Merrill's absence, but once Merrill rejoins the lineup, Laureano will likely shift to left field, and Gavin Sheets will presumably move into more of a part-time role.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Aiming to return early next week
Rotowire
Merrill (ankle) is getting live at-bats at the Padres' rookie-level affiliate in Arizona and is targeting a return during a three-game series against the Orioles that begins Monday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Friday.
Merrill becomes eligible for reinstatement Saturday, but he'll need a few extra days before rejoining the Padres' active roster after sustaining a sprained left ankle. While he's been sidelined, Ramon Laureano has handled most of the work in center field, while Gavin Sheets has moved into an everyday left field role.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Heads to IL with ankle sprain
Rotowire
The Padres placed Merrill on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a left ankle sprain.
After Merrill was out of the lineup for a sixth straight game Saturday against the Dodgers, the Padres have decided to deactivate the young outfielder with the hope that he'll be ready to return when first eligible Aug. 30. In the meantime, Ramon Laureano should see most of the work in center field while Gavin Sheets handles left field.
