Merrill magic on postseason stage no surprise to Padres

SAN DIEGO -- Jackson Merrill bashed a laser off the center-field wall, then sped around the bases, diving headfirst into third as Petco Park whipped into a frenzy. In the on-deck circle at the time, Xander Bogaerts had a flashback.

Playing in his first postseason in 2013, Bogaerts was the last player younger than Merrill to hit a triple in a playoff game. He had done so for Boston in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series.

It felt similar. Except ...

"This guy," Bogaerts said, in borderline awe. "Me, at that age, I played in the World Series. But this guy was so much better than me at that age."

That Merrill triple proved to be the difference as the Padres won Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against Atlanta. On Sunday, Merrill became the youngest Padre to homer in a playoff game, an epic opposite-field blast to silence a rowdy Dodger Stadium crowd in Game 2 of the NL Division Series.

Through four postseason games, Merrill is reaching base at a .500 clip. He has three extra-base hits, and he turned in one of the best plate appearances of the playoffs -- a 10-pitch walk against the Dodgers' Michael Kopech in Game 1 on Saturday night.

Not a single Padre is surprised that Merrill has met the postseason stage. They'll tell you it's the other way around: The postseason stage has met Jackson Merrill.

"He's been playing postseason baseball for the last six months," Manny Machado said. "What he's been doing is incredible, and his energy's always been top notch. We've put him in so many situations -- Korea, an All-Star Game, clutch moments. ... He's been ready for it for six months."

The first of those testing situations came on Feb. 22 in Peoria, Ariz. -- coincidentally Merrill's first taste of the Padres-Dodgers rivalry. In the team’s first Spring Training game, Merrill got the start in left field.

A career-long shortstop, Merrill was peppered by Dodgers hitters that day. He made a diving play on a sinking liner in the first inning. He ranged to the warning track and battled a sun sky to make a catch in the second. It all looked natural.

Shortly thereafter, Padres brass met at the Peoria Sports Complex. They'd been scouring the trade market for center-field options. Suddenly, it seemed possible they might already have one. A few days later, Merrill arrived in San Diego's clubhouse, checked the lineup card and saw he'd be playing center. He couldn’t recall having played a game there in his life, at any level.

He's been the Padres’ center fielder ever since.

"It just looked right," said Padres manager Mike Shildt. "There was some internal debate about it. There was some competition still to be had. But it was pretty clear that he was going to be our center fielder."

Including in Seoul, South Korea, where Merrill joined Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones as the only players to start in center field on Opening Day before their 21st birthday.

Merrill’s start to the year was OK. For two months, he was solid defensively, and his offensive numbers were league average (even if his quality of contact indicated he was getting unlucky).

Then, sometime around mid-June, Merrill emerged as a force. He delivered clutch home run after clutch home run -- launching five of them to either tie the game or give his team a lead in the ninth inning or later, the most by any player in his age 21 season or younger. Meanwhile, Merrill developed into an excellent defender at his new position -- worth 11 Outs Above Average, per Statcast.

For part of the season, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes was the consensus NL Rookie of the Year favorite. Merrill, at the very least, has joined him atop those projections. His teammates don't think it’s a debate. It’s no coincidence, they’ll say, that Merrill’s second-half surge coincided with the Padres posting the best record in the Majors after the All-Star break.

Merrill doesn’t seem to have any interest in that discussion. The first time he was asked about the possibility, he said, “I don’t even care about that stuff. … I care about our team right here, and I care about winning,” and he’s echoed some version of that statement each time he’s been asked.

Those aren’t hollow words either. Merrill was the Padres’ Heart and Hustle Award winner. He’s the first Padre at the ballpark nearly every day. That’s not eyewash; Merrill genuinely loves being there. Before one series, the clubhouse didn’t open until noon, but Merrill found himself in the player parking lot at 11:30. He sat in his car for most of those remaining 30 minutes. “Didn’t want to annoy the clubbies,” he said.

That mindset -- amid a gruelingly long season with all manner of ups and downs -- has had a profound effect on his teammates. Ace Michael King, after an August start in which he struggled early but rebounded late, summed it up thusly:

“He’s 21 years old, everything he does is baseball,” King said. “It’s not like he has a family that he goes home to and kids that he goes and talks to. He gets to the field, and he’s so happy to be here and talks about how we’re all his best friends, and we’re just having fun.

“Now me, sitting here, having a bad outing -- I look at Jackson and I’m like, ‘That’s the mentality that I need to have.’ It’s just his contagious mentality. We go out, and we’re playing a kids’ game, we’re loving each other. And it’s a lot easier game when you’re playing for your brothers.”

Merrill has never played a season like this. Three years ago, he played 15 high school games in Maryland. Last year, he split time between High-A and Double-A and played 114 while dealing with minor ailments.

This year? Merrill played 156 games as a novice at one of the sport’s most taxing positions. After the last of those regular-season games, with the postseason looming, Merrill was asked what he expected of the October stage. The games were going to get more important. The stakes were going to be higher.

“You know, I’m just excited to play more,” Merrill said. “I feel like 162 isn’t even enough.”