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.

SAN DIEGO -- The veteran outfielders on his right and his left had already been pulled from the Padres¡¯ 13-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Saturday when Jackson Merrill's eyes lit up. Eugenio Su¨¢rez laced a sharp line drive into the left-center-field gap, and in that moment, the scoreboard didn¡¯t matter.

¡°There's no time when you're on that field,¡± Merrill would later say, ¡°to let off the gas.¡±

The Padres¡¯ rookie center fielder got the jump he needed, covering 85 feet in 4.4 seconds before laying out to make an excellent diving grab. The play had a catch probability of only 20 percent, according to Statcast. In the grand scheme, it didn¡¯t count for much. But¡­

¡°It's not really a close game, but he's playing it, regardless of the circumstance,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt. ¡°That's what a winning player does. He goes out in that ninth inning and makes a highlight level play. That's what really exceptional players do. They're always on point. Jackson's always on point.¡±

Two and a half months into his big league career, the Padres have come to expect that from Merrill. A 21-year-old rookie who is mature beyond his years, Merrill doesn¡¯t give away at-bats. He¡¯s a threat on the bases. He¡¯s been better than anyone could have reasonably expected in center field.

¡°He¡¯s a baller,¡± said Fernando Tatis Jr. ¡°He¡¯s proven himself to be a big leaguer. He¡¯s battling, just like every other guy in this clubhouse. But he¡¯s definitely learned how to make adjustments. He¡¯s taking care of himself the right way. He¡¯s played a great center field for us, which has been huge. I¡¯m proud to be his teammate.¡±

That¡¯s not to say everything has come easily. The Padres handed their starting center-field job to a then-20-year-old who had never played center before. Naturally, there was a learning curve.

The point is: Merrill embraced that learning curve. He¡¯s played 65 of the team¡¯s 69 games, posting a wholly respectable .272/.309/.355 slash line. There¡¯s reason to believe those numbers should be higher, too, based on the quality of his contact.

Merrill¡¯s expected batting average is .301. His expected slugging percentage is .472. Digging a little further, Merrill is doing plenty of good things at the plate without the results to show for them. Consider these parameters: balls hit 95 mph or harder with a launch angle between 5 and 30 degrees. That¡¯s a recipe for success, and Merrill has 45 of those this season -- tied for 25th in the Majors. On those particular batted balls, Merrill¡¯s batting average (.533) is 130 points lower than his expected batting average (.663).

Which is a long way of saying: He¡¯s hitting lots of hard line drives to the outfield -- a very good thing! But he¡¯s not getting the results to show for it. On Sunday, I began explaining some of these details to Merrill, before he nodded and summed it up quicker than I could.

¡°Yeah,¡± he said, ¡°we¡¯re getting robbed, that¡¯s just straight up.¡± Except he used a more colorful word than ¡°robbed.¡±

I think that¡¯s a telling response from Merrill. There wasn¡¯t any bitterness in it. He¡¯s merely telling it like it is. Merrill has hit into some bad luck (as evidenced by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.¡¯s remarkable over-the-shoulder catch on Sunday). At times earlier this year, Merrill admitted to getting more caught up in the results than the process. That led to his slumps.

¡°When I do line out and I'm hitting the ball good, and it's not going my way, I kind of tried to force stuff,¡± Merrill said. ¡°I need to not think, ¡®I need to change this.¡¯ Nah, keep the same approach. The balls will start falling. I've learned that by now. I don't really get upset about it anymore.

¡°But it is annoying.¡±

Let¡¯s just say that¡¯s a lesson plenty of grizzled veterans struggle with.

¡°He¡¯s just a big leaguer, man,¡± Tatis said. ¡°He knows how to manage himself.¡±

Through the ups and downs, Merrill has entrenched himself in the Padres¡¯ starting lineup, mostly hitting seventh lately. He¡¯s manned center field without looking like a novice. He¡¯s regularly turning in quality at-bats, with decent results to show for it. But mostly, Merrill has flown under the radar this year.

¡°Not by us,¡± Shildt said. ¡°Maybe peripherally outside of our clubhouse. But it's not getting overlooked by me and his teammates and our staff. He's just done a nice job of taking what the game gives him, making adjustments when he has to and staying within himself, trusting his ability. Which he clearly has a lot of.¡±