Jackson Merrill's game-saving catch gets national media on his side for ROY run

Followers of the San Diego Padres, especially readers here, are well aware of how important Jackson Merrill has been to the team in 2024. Aside from his measurables in terms of production, including his .289/.321/.479 slash line with 17 homers, 13 stolen bases and an NL Player of the Week win last week, he has had a knack for coming up in the clutch all season long. His rapid ascension despite playing out of position has turned Merrill into one of the Padres' most important players.

There was already a good bit of chatter about Merrill's NL Rookie of the Year case before Monday night. The Pirates' Paul Skenes is a phenomenon to be sure, but Merrill has been on the Padres' roster all year long and playing well every day is going to hold a lot of value for a ton of voters. Beyond his lack of walks in his rookie season, Merrill has been everything San Diego could have asked for.

While he didn't make an impact at the plate in Monday's pitcher's duel against Pittsburgh, Merrill's glove in center field was on full display, and appears to have gotten the national media more on board with the idea that Merrill should be Rookie of the Year.

Jackson Merrill's phenomenal catch to end game against Pirates could be defining moment of his season

It is certainly a little annoying that it took the national media this long to notice Merrill's rise, but it is nice that they are doing so. After getting named Player of the Week earlier in the day thanks to his multiple clutch performances last week, Merrill's diving play to ice the game in the ninth against the Pirates made many forget that he was an infielder by trade before the start of spring training.

At this point, we are running out of superlatives for Merrill. Yes, his on-base percentage needs some work, but that is truly the only quibble. He is hitting for average and power, continually comes up in big moments, and has turned into an elite outfield defender in his first year playing out there. Given voters' historical preference towards giving position players ROY honors, it is hard not to think that Merrill has the inside track to win the top rookie honors in 2024.

That might not be all of the recognition that Merrill gets this year, either. With the Padres playing extremely well, the national media now focusing on him, and Merrill racking up his best baseball right now, one wonders if he could get a little MVP love at the end of the season as well. That might be a little bit of a stretch, given he is just 12th in fWAR in the National League right now, but if he keeps playing like this...the sky is the limit.

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