Attended Severna Park High School in Maryland...despite living 30 minutes from Camden Yards, he grew up a Red Sox fan (because his dad, Josh, was a Red Sox fan), and his favorite player was Dustin Pedroia…Drafted by the Padres in the first round (27th) of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Severna Park High School (Md.)…was committed to the University of Kentucky...Parents are Josh and Jennie Merrill, both school teachers...his dad, Josh, coached many of Jackson's teams as he grew up...The Merrill's have a family charity called Merrill Madness, in which a portion of every shirt sold is donated to the family of a youth baseball player to help with the cost of travel expenses...Enjoys basketball, ping pong and darts...favorite food is Hibachi (Japanese for "fire bowl.")
2024
Concluded his first Major League season with Silver Slugger (NL-CF) honors and runner-up to PIT’s Paul Skenes for NL Rookie of the Year after leading all rookies in games (156), hits (162), RBI (90), HR (T-1st, 24), XBH (61), BA (.292), SLG (.500) and OPS (.826)…Following the season, he earned one of the three OF spots on the All-MLB Second Team, joining teammates Dylan Cease, Michael King and Manny Machado with Second Team honors...Joined Benito Santiago (1987) as the only two Padres rookies to win a Silver Slugger...Among Padres rookie seasons, Jackson's 24 HR tied for second all-time w/ Nate Colbert (most: Hunter Renfroe, 26 HR in 2017), while his 90 RBI surpassed Benito Santiago's 79 from 1987... his 161 hits ranked second (most: Santiago, 164 H in '87)…his 31 2B tied for fourth (most: Yonder Alonso, 39-2B in 2012), six 3B tied for ninth and 44 multi-hit efforts ranked third (most: 3B's & multi-hit efforts: Bill Almon & Gene Richards 11 3B in 1977 & Almon's 47 multi-hit efforts in '77)…Became the first Padres rookie to ever be named an All-Star and the youngest Padre ever (youngest prior was Roberto Alomar in 1990 at 22-155)…went 1-for-2 as a DR (CF) in the bottom of the sixth...Merrill was 21 years and 88 days old on July 16, and the last time a player as young or younger played in the All-Star Game was in 2013: Bryce Harper (20-273), Manny Machado (21-010), and Jose Fernandez (20-350)…Earned the NL Player of the Month award twice in June and August, joining Khalil Greene (April/August 2004) as the only two Padres rookies to take home two monthly awards during their rookie campaigns...at the time, was one of seven Padres rookies (ninth occurrence) to win the award...also the first rookie league-wide to win the award twice since Josh Jung won in April and May of 2023...Hit six game-tying or go-ahead HR in the eighth inning-or-later, tying him with HOFer Frank Robinson (1956) for the most in a season by a player 21 or-younger since 1900…his five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning-or-later were the most in the Majors, while no other hitter had more than three such home runs in '24...Hit seven HRs in close and late situations...only six other players had 7+HR of the kind...Had two walk-off HRs (June 12 vs. OAK and Aug. 25 vs. NYM), which tied Fernando Tatis Jr. for most on the team…became the first SD rookie since Everth Cabrera in 2009 to have 2+ walk-offs and trailed only Benito Santiago’s three rookie walk-offs from 1986-87...Became the first Padres rookie to hit multiple walk-off home runs in the same season…he’s the second Padre rookie to do so overall, joining Benito Santiago (who exceeded rookie limits in ‘87) on Sept. 17, 1986 and July 16, 1987 (Elias)…Cracked SD's Opening Day roster for the Seoul Series in Seoul, South Korea, and made his MLB debut on March 20 vs. LAD...at 20 years and 335 days old, Merrill was the first player younger than 21 to make his MLB debut outside the United States or Canada...he became the 16th-youngest Padre to ever make his debut and the first Padre to debut before turning 21 since Ryan Weathers on Oct. 6, 2020 (was 20 years and 294 days old) vs. the Dodgers in the NLDS in the Pandemic-shortened season...He was the youngest Padre to ever make his debut in CF, with the previous youngest to do so being Tony Gwynn on July 19, 1982, at 22 years and 71 days old...he joined Andruw Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players in the last 50 years to start Opening Day in center field before turning 21 (Elias)...On April 7 @ SF, became the first Padres' rookie with a four-hit game since José Azocar on Aug. 26, 2022 vs. KC...On April 15 @ MIL, became the first player in franchise history with consecutive games of 3+ hits before turning 21 (was also his first career multi-RBI game)…Named June NL Rookie of the Month after pacing all rookies with a .320 AVG, .650 SLG, .996 OPS, 33 hits, seven doubles and nine HR...His 33 hits in June were the most in a month by a Padre 21 or younger since Fernando Tatis Jr. in August 2020 (36 H)…only Roberto Alomar had more hits in June at that age (35 H, 1990)…His nine HR in June tied Ryan Schimpf's nine HR in July 2016 for most HR in a calendar month by a Padres rookie...his 42 RBI paced all rookies and were the most by an SD rookie through the month of June...June 12 vs. OAK, became the youngest player in Padres' history to hit a walk-off HR by securing his first career walk-off w/ a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth, marking his first career multi-HR game (second multi-XBH game)...at 21 years and 54 days old, became the youngest player with a multi-HR game including a walk-off HR in at least the divisional era (1969, h/t Sarah Langs)…June 22 vs. MIL, hit his seventh home run in a 10-game span (June 12-22), becoming the first Padres rookie to ever have 7+ homers in any 10-game span in a season...the last rookie to do so in MLB was CIN's Christian Encarnacion-Strand, from September 16-29, 2023 (hit seven HR in 10 games)…June 20 vs. MIL, connected w/ his ninth HR...was his sixth homer in an eight-game span from June 12-21, joining Willie Mays as the only other centerfielder 21 or younger in MLB history with a span of that kind (counting only HR while playing CF, per STATS)…Posted a career-best, 10-game OB streak from July 20-31 (.395 OBP)…On July 24 @ WSH, notched his 100th hit in his 100th ML game (a single in the eighth inning for his fourth hit on the night), becoming one of 12 Padres rookies to reach the century mark in hits by his 1st 100 games...was the first SD rookie since Jake Cronenworth in 2021 (103 H) to accomplish the feat...Was named NL Rookie of the Month for August, his 2nd monthly award of the campaign, after posting a .303 AVG (30-for-99) with seven HR, 23 RBI, five doubles, three triples, seven BB, five SB, a .626 SLG & a .343 OBP in 27 games...also ranked fourth in the NL in SLG; tied for seventh in RBI; eighth in OPS (.969); and tied for eighth in HR & XBH (15)...Named NL Player of the Week for Aug. 5-11 after hitting .417 (10-for-24) with four HR, eight RBI, one double, one triple, three BB, two SB a 1.042 SLG and a .464 OBP in six games last week....also tied for the ML lead in runs (nine); tied for second in TB (25) and XBH (six); ranked third in SLG & OPS (1.506); tied for third in HR; tied for third among NL hitters BA and ranked fourth in the NL OBP...is the first Padres rookie to win the award since Manuel Margot won on July 31, 2017...His three-RBI 2B on Aug. 19 vs. MIN was his 35th XBH in a span of 60 games from June 6 to Aug. 19, which ranked second in NL...joined 11 other ML rookies, 21 or younger since 1900 to collect 35+XBH in a 60-game span...last: Ronald Acuna Jr. in 2018 (38 XBH) and includes: Joe DiMaggio (46, 1936), Albert Pujols (42, 2001), Ted Williams (42, 1939), Hal Trosky (40, 1934), Cody Bellinger (39, 2017), Ronald Acuna Jr. (38, 2018), Adam Dunn (38, 2001), Ken Keltner (37, 1938), Frank Robinson (37, 1956), Roy Weatherly (37, 1936) and Giancarlo Stanton (36, 2010)...Connected with his 53rd and 54th XBH (2-2B) on Sept. 13 @ SF to surpass Nate Colbert & Benito Santiago's 53 XBH for most XBH by an SD rookie in franchise history...From June 8-Sept. 25, he became the first rookie since Pete Alonso in 2019 to have 51+ XBH in a 90-game span...was also the first Padres rookie to have 50+ XBH in any 90-game span...Was the Padres finalist for the Hank Aaron Award...the award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years...Was also the Padres’ 2024 recipient of MLB’s 19th Annual Heart and Hustle Award, which honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game...the Heart and Hustle Award is also the only award in Major League Baseball that is voted on by former players...one player from each Major League team is chosen by the committees based on their passion, desire, and work ethic demonstrated both on and off the field.
POSTSEASON: Started all seven games for SD in his first Postseason action, going 6-for-24 (.250) at the dish...in Game 2 of the NLDS, he became the youngest Padre to homer in the Postseason with his two-run shot in the eighth inning of SD's 10-2 win...also became the fourth-youngest center fielder to hit a Postseason homer, behind Bryce Harper (2012), Andruw Jones (1998) and Mickey Mantle (1952)…owned a .429 AVG though his first four career Postseason games before 0-for-10 with a walk across SD's final three games.
2023
Split his second full season as a professional between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio, earning a spot on the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game roster...Also earned his second MiLB.com Organization All-Star honor, hitting a combined .277 (129-for-466) in 114 games with 25 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 64 RBI and 76 runs scored...Played four different positions in 2023 between SA and FW: shortstop (99 games), left field (five games), second base (two game) and first base (one game)...at SS, committed 12 errors in a 845.2 innings for a .969 fielding percentage...Began the season with Fort Wayne, where he hit 10 homers with a .280/.318/.444 slash line in 68 games to earn the promotion to Double-A on July 14...Reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 39 of his 46 games for SA, batting .273 (51-for-187) with 13 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 31 RBI, 26 runs scored, and 18 walks...owned a .338 OBP and .444 SLG in his 1st stint at the Double-A level...With SA, went 15-for-41 (.366) with RISP and 7-for-20 (.350) with RISP/2 out...Hit second in the Missions batting order in 45 of his 46 games played, hitting third in the other contest...Hit exactly .273 vs. lefties (12-for-44) and righties (60-for-219) with SA...Also converted five of his six stolen base attempts while with SA, including 15 of 19 (78.9%) between SA and FW...On Aug. 17 vs. Midland, stole home in the first inning...Was left off the SA division series roster with his left hamstring injury...Entered 2023 rated as the No. 16 prospect in all of baseball by ESPN.com, No. 19 by MLB Pipeline, No. 20 by The Athletic and No. 22 by Baseball America...Earned his first invitation to Major League Spring Training in 2023 and saw ample playing time with many players participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic...played in 16 games and hit .268 (10-for-35)...started 10 of those games at shortstop and made two errors in 82.0 innings at SS.
2022
The Padres’ top prospect was limited to only 45 games due to wrist and hamstring issues, but he slashed .325/.387/.482 with 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 35 RBI and 33 runs scored for Lake Elsinore (A) in his age-19 season....Hit safely in 11 of his first 13 games including seven multi-hit efforts from April 8-24 with a .393/.452/.518 slash line, earning California League Player of the Week honors on April 24....Placed on the 7-day IL on April 29 with a fractured wrist as he applied the tag on an attempted steal…was sent on a rehab assignment to the Arizona Complex League on June 21, where he slashed .433/.542/.700 across 10 games from June 21-July 29…landed back on the IL during that time due to the hamstring injury....Reinstated from the IL and returned the Storm on July31…hit safely in 25 of his 32 games played, slashing.298/.361/.468 with six doubles, three triples, four home runs, 27 RBI and 22 runs scored....In the Postseason, he helped the Storm claim its first California League championship since 2011 and fourth overall, going 11-for-17 at the dish (.647) with four doubles, seven RBI, three runs scored and three stolen bases in as many attempts....While with the Storm, he hit .379 (22-for-58) vs. lefties and.302 (42-for-139) vs. righties....Went 23-for-65 (.354) with RISP, including 5-for-12 (.417)with the bases loaded....Spent the majority of the season batting 2nd in the Storm lineup (27 G, .303 AVG), while also batting leadoff (10 G,.356) and third (eight G, .367)....He hit .357 when he got ahead in the count, and .299 when he fell behind....Following the season, he played in 22 games for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, slashing .261/.316/.352 with one double, two triples, one HR, 10 RBI, 16 runs scored and two stolen bases...was named to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars team.
2021
Made his professional debut with the Arizona Complex League Padres (R) and hit .280 (30-for-107) with a .722 OPS in 31 games…he had nine XBH (7 2B and 2 3B) with no home runs...Hit safely in 23 of 31 games for the ACL Padres, including each of the first 10 games to begin his pro career from July 26-Aug. 9 (.353 AVG).
