ST. PETERSBURG -- Jackson Merrill seems to do something every day that makes you say ¡°wow.¡±

Such was the case Sunday, when the 21-year-old shined on both sides of the ball and continued moving up in the Padres¡¯ rookie record book in the club¡¯s 4-3 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Merrill's first highlight-reel play came in the third inning, when Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt lined a knuckle curve off Dylan Cease that appeared destined to split the gap in right-center field.

¡°I kind of assumed it was a double,¡± Cease said.

But Merrill, who was shaded toward left field, got on his horse and covered 83 feet in 4.5 seconds. He knew it was going to be a close play.

¡°I didn¡¯t know if I was going to have to dive or not,¡± he said.

He did have to dive but ultimately secured an out that had a 40% catch probability.

¡°It does make you say wow,¡± manager Mike Shildt said. ¡°It¡¯s clearly a highlight-reel type play.¡±

Merrill added to that reel in the top of the fourth against Rays starter Ryan Pepiot. The right-hander threw what Merrill called a ¡°nasty¡± fastball near the top of the zone. The four-seamer is Pepiot¡¯s best pitch, and it comes with a lot of ride, meaning it doesn¡¯t drop much during flight. The offering had so much ride that Merrill actually thought it was above the zone. Still, he unleashed on the 95.3 mph heater and blistered it over the center-field wall for a two-run homer to open the scoring.

¡°I mean, the kid is really good,¡± Pepiot said of Merrill. ¡°He swings the bat really well. He's leading the NL Rookie of the Year charge. So, tip your cap for a good swing.¡±

Besides bolstering his NL Rookie of the Year candidacy, Merrill might be having the best season by a rookie position player in franchise history.

His 21st dinger of the year gave him 79 RBIs, tying Benito Santiago for the most by a Padres rookie. With 23 games remaining this season, it¡¯s safe to say Merrill will hold that record by a significant margin once all is said and done.

And that may not be the only one.

He is five homers shy of reaching Hunter Renfroe¡¯s home run record, which he set in 2017. Merrill needs just four more extra-base hits to tie Santiago (1987) and Nate Colbert (1969) for the franchise high. His .813 OPS, nine points ahead of Colbert, would be the best by a Padres rookie in a non-shortened season; Jake Cronenworth recorded an .831 OPS in 2020. With a hot September, Merrill could also chase down Santiago¡¯s mark for hits (164). He is at 138 after Sunday.

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Then there is his defense. The converted shortstop has registered a stellar +6 outs above average in center field thanks to the skills that he showcased with that grab in the third inning. It has all contributed to a 4.0 fWAR entering Sunday. That is the most by a Padres rookie, just ahead of Roberto Alomar¡¯s 3.9 fWAR in 1988.

¡°He is helping us win on both sides of the ball,¡± Shildt said. ¡°He's one of these guys who just gets it done.¡±

Merrill is a plus baserunner. His ability to come through in the clutch is well-established. His knack for game-changing plays helped him enter Sunday with 2.15 win probability added, according to FanGraphs, trailing only Yasmani Grandal (2.45 in 2012) and John Kruk (2.44 in 1986) among Padres rookies.

And there is almost a full month of the regular season left, followed by what the Padres hope is a deep postseason run. San Diego¡¯s victory combined with the Dodgers¡¯ loss to the D-backs on Sunday kept the Padres percentage points behind Arizona for the top NL Wild Card and pulled them to within five games of Los Angeles in the NL West.

Perhaps not everyone knew Merrill would be this good this quickly, but he knew his team would be this good as soon as he arrived at Spring Training. Seven months later, Merrill is amped to experience pennant-chase baseball in his first Major League season.

More ¡°wow¡± plays await.

¡°I¡¯m excited,¡± he said. ¡°We're ready to go. We¡¯re ready to attack.¡±