This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell's Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It¡¯s BBWAA Awards Week.

I suspect several Padres will receive down-ballot votes for both the NL MVP and Cy Young Awards later in the week. But the big announcements come Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, Jackson Merrill is up for NL Rookie of the Year. On Tuesday, Mike Shildt could win his second Manager of the Year Award.

For MLB.com, each beat reporter laid out the case for the finalists they¡¯ve covered. Here are the cases I made for Merrill and Shildt:

The case for Merrill

No slight on Pittsburgh¡¯s Paul Skenes, who arrived with massive expectations and then lived up to them. It¡¯s just that another less-heralded rookie equaled Skenes¡¯ level of excellence -- and he did so over the course of a full season¡¯s worth of games.

The statistical case for Merrill is simple enough. Over 156 games, he led all qualified Major League rookies in fWAR (5.3), hits (162), extra-base hits (61), RBIs (90), batting average (.292), slugging percentage (.500) and tied for first with Baltimore's Colton Cowser with 24 home runs. Merrill also played an outstanding center field, worth 12 Outs Above Average.

But Merrill¡¯s impact goes well beyond those numbers. At the plate, he was as clutch as any player in baseball -- as clutch as any rookie in recent memory. With the Padres in the midst of a tight playoff race, Merrill launched five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later. That was the most in the Majors in 2024, and the most by a rookie since at least 1961. Not to mention, those home runs came against some especially dominant relievers -- Mason Miller, Blake Treinen and Edwin D¨ªaz among them.

Additionally, Merrill¡¯s teammates raved about his energy and playing style. In a clubhouse full of big personalities, Merrill took on a leadership role as a 21-year-old rookie. He had never played center field before in his life. But the Padres needed one, and Merrill welcomed the challenge, was eager and coachable.

The Padres haven¡¯t had a Rookie of the Year Award winner since Benito Santiago in 1987. But they haven¡¯t seen a rookie season like this one in at least that long.

The case for Shildt

Shildt took over as the Padres' manager in November 2023 and just about everything changed. After a star-studded San Diego team missed the ¡¯23 postseason, the Padres overhauled their roster, trimming payroll while a number of those stars ended up elsewhere.

Enter Shildt, who was tasked with turning things around. Sure, it¡¯s often hard to quantify the specifics of a manager¡¯s impact. But the Padres were excellent situationally in 2024, winning the types of close games that they rarely won in ¡¯23.

Their clubhouse was also a different place. The 2023 season saw numerous reports of discord -- reports that, in some cases, might have been overblown but were not entirely without merit. Conversely, the ¡¯24 season saw a Padres team buoyed by its clubhouse culture. Yes, it was a different roster. But Shildt¡¯s role can¡¯t be discounted.

In parts of five seasons as a big league skipper -- including four with St. Louis (2018-21) -- Shildt has reached the postseason four times. He took home the 2019 NL Manager of the Year Award and could be headed for another. In any case, his strong debut season at the helm of the Padres recently landed Shildt a contract extension through the 2027 season.

¡°He took a talented group and got them together, really from Day 1,¡± said general manager A.J. Preller. ¡°He brought a competitive spirit to our team and brought a lot of joy, energy and happiness to the city of San Diego. It was a lot of fun to be a part of it with him.¡±