Padres' electric superstar duo quietly crashes the 2027 conversation for No. 1 player

Who is the best player in Major League Baseball right now? Most will say Shohei Ohtani, many others will say Aaron Judge. Bobby Witt Jr., Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal are fine picks as well. Heading into the 2026 season, those are the best talents in the sport, unquestionably.

But let's take a quick leap forward to 2027. Will those players remain towards the top, or will things get shaken up? It is baseball, after all, a game that can slow anyone down — even the superstars. Now, if we were to take a look at which San Diego Padres have a chance at holding the title of No. 1 player in MLB, who would it be? Fernando Tatis Jr., currently ranked 15th, and Jackson Merril (59th) are solid candidates.

Considering both players are still well-within their primes, we might just see one of these guys sneakily grab the top spot in 2027.

Padres' Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr. named darkhorse candidates as top MLB player for 2027

It feels like Fernando Tatis Jr. has been in the big leagues for a very long time, but he just turned 27 years old at the start of January. We still haven't seen the best of Tatis Jr., who is a two-time Platinum Gold Glover, three-time Gold Glover, three-time All-Star, and two-time Silver Slugger.

Tatis Jr. also has a flair for the dramatic, which tends to bode well when trying to find him a leg up on other top players in MLB. He sits in the 90th percentile or better in a ton of hitting and defensive metrics, so it's fair to say that Tatis Jr. has a legitimate chance at shooting to No. 1 in 2027 if he goes wild this year.

As for Merrill, we only expect him to get better each season. At 22 years old, Merrill had an unbelievable rookie season — one good enough to earn him a nine-year extension. In 2025, Merrill dealt with a few injuries but still found a way to garner a 2.7 bWAR and 112 OPS+. He's barely legal to drink, but he already has an All-Star nod under his belt, as well as a Silver Slugger. Could 2026 be the year when he truly pops off? No one would be surprised if he does.