Fantasy News

• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Homers, reaches four times

  Rotowire Jun 23, 2024

  Merrill went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and a walk in Saturday's win over Milwaukee. Merrill singled in his first at-bat before crushing a three-run shot off Carlos Rodriguez in the fourth to put San Diego on the board. The shortstop would reach four times on the night and has now recorded multiple hits in three of his last four games. He's also homered in three of his last four and in seven of his last 10, while posting at least one RBI in four straight.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Continues power surge Thursday

  Rotowire Jun 21, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 7-6 win over Milwaukee on Thursday. Merrill hit the second of back-to-back homers with Manny Machado in the first inning to give San Diego an early lead. The long ball was the second in as many days for Merrill, who has surged in the power department of late, with six of his nine homers on the campaign coming over his past eight games. All six of those long balls have been of the solo variety, but it's still a positive development for Merrill's fantasy managers after he went deep just three times over his first 68 games.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Belts eighth homer

  Rotowire Jun 19, 2024

  Merrill went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Phillies. The rookie center fielder accounted for the Padres' only run off Ranger Suarez, driving a two-seam fastball from the southpaw over the right-field wall in the second inning. Merrill has eight homers on the year, but five of them have come in the last seven games, boosting his slash line on the season to .279/.317/.417 with nine steals, 30 RBI and 32 runs in 74 contests.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Goes deep again Saturday

  Rotowire Jun 16, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Saturday in a loss to the Mets. Merrill produced the only Padres run with a solo shot to center field in the fifth inning. The rookie has homered in three straight contests, belting four total long balls over that span. Merrill has also notched at least one hit in nine of his past 10 games and is batting .351 (13-for-37) with eight extra-base hits, six RBI, seven runs and two steals during that stretch.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Stays hot Friday

  Rotowire Jun 15, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Mets. The 21-year-old went yard for the third time in the last two games, accounting for all of the Padres' offense on the night with a fifth-inning shot off Sean Manaea. Merrill seems to have flipped a switch in June -- over the last nine games, he's batting .353 (12-for-34) with four doubles, three homers, two steals, five RBI, six runs and an impressive 8.3 percent strikeout rate.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Makes history with walk-off homer

  Rotowire Jun 13, 2024

  Merrill went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the A's. The rookie center fielder took Hogan Harris deep in the fifth inning, setting the stage for Merrill to play hero by ripping a slider from Mason Miller down the right-field line in the bottom of the ninth for his first career walk-off homer. In the process, Merrill become the youngest player in Padres history with a walk-off blast, and the youngest player in MLB history with a two-homer game that included a walk-off shot. The 21-year-old snapped a 26-game homer drought with the performance. He's been heating up in June, however, batting .355 (11-for-31) over the last eight contests with four doubles, two steals, four RBI and five runs.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Tallies three hits Monday

  Rotowire Jun 11, 2024

  Merrill went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI in Monday's 6-1 victory over the Athletics. The bottom third of San Diego's order produced half of the team's 10 hits, with Merrill's three knocks leading the way. The exciting young outfielder extended his current hitting streak to six games, and he's batting .391 (9-for-23) over that stretch. Merrill is holding his own in his rookie campaign, slashing .281/.316/.367 with three homers, 24 RBI, 26 runs and nine stolen bases through 236 plate appearances.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Logs steal in win

  Rotowire Jun 8, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks. This was Merrill's first steal since May 14. Over the 20 contests between thefts, he hit a meager .224 (15-for-67) with no walks and just one extra-base hit. The 21-year-old still has a respectable .268/.303/.344 slash line with three home runs, 22 RBI, 24 runs scored and eight steals over 63 contests this year. Merrill has been benched against some left-handed pitchers recently, but he should have no trouble maintaining a majority of the playing time in center field over Jose Azocar.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Idle against lefty

  Rotowire Jun 2, 2024

  Merrill is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The lefty-hitting Merrill will watch from the bench as lefty Cole Ragans gets the start for Kansas City. Jose Azocar will fill in for Merrill in center field.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Getting breather versus lefty

  Rotowire May 28, 2024

  Merrill isn't in the Padres' lineup Tuesday against the Marlins. The left-handed bat of Merrill will step out of the lineup Tuesday as the Marlins prepare to send Jesus Luzardo to the mound. Jose Azocar will fill the void in center field and bat eighth while Merrill sits.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Swipes another bag

  Rotowire May 15, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Rockies. Merrill struck out in his first two at-bats before reaching on a fielder's choice in the seventh inning and coming around to score soon thereafter. He added a single and stolen base in the eighth but was left stranded. Merrill has notched three thefts over his past three games and ranks second on San Diego with seven steals on the season.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Swats third homer

  Rotowire May 14, 2024

  Merrill went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's loss to Colorado. Merrill was the only Padre with multiple hits in the contest, and his seventh-inning solo shot brought the team to within one run, though it turned out to be the final tally of the game. The rookie has notched consecutive multi-hit performances and has multiple hits in four of his past eight contests overall, so he could be back on the rise following an eight-game stretch from late April to early May during which he went 1-for-23 at the plate. Merrill still has a strong .291/.342/.403 slash line along with three homers, 17 RBI, 18 runs and six stolen bases on the season.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Impactful game in win

  Rotowire May 13, 2024

  Merrill went 3-for-4 with two steals and a run scored in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Dodgers. Merrill tallied at least three hits in a game for the fourth time this season and it was his 11th multi-hit game of his rookie campaign. Merrill hadn't swiped a bag since April 16 but managed to steal and eventually score in the fourth before taking another base in the eighth. He's settled in nicely thus far, slashing .282/.331/.374 with two homers, 16 RBI, 17 runs, six steals and a 10:23 BB:K in 143 plate appearances.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Back in action Saturday

  Rotowire Apr 27, 2024

  Merrill (groin) is starting in center field and batting eighth Saturday against the Phillies. Groin tightness has prevented Merrill from playing in the Padres' last two games, but he is seemingly feeling better heading into Saturday's contest. The 21-year-old is 5-for-18 with four RBI across his last five games, though all five of his hits in that span have been singles.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Notches second steal

  Rotowire Apr 11, 2024

  Merrill went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run, an RBI and a stolen base Wednesday in a 10-2 win against the Cubs. Merrill didn't collect any hits in the contest, but he made a productive out with his second-inning fielder's choice that brought home the Padres' second run. The rookie also picked up his second theft of the campaign, both of which have come his past four games. Merrill is batting a steady .286 on the season, and though he has just one homer and three RBI, he's posted a promising 7:10 BB:K and has scored 11 runs through 15 games.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Belts first big-league long ball

  Rotowire Apr 2, 2024

  Merrill went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Monday in a loss to the Cardinals. San Diego was down 4-0 when Merrill took Kyle Gibson deep to left field for the first home run of his major-league career. The 20-year-old has gone 3-for-7 with two RBI over his past two games, so he may be settling in after starting the campaign with just two hits over his first 14 at-bats. Merrill has started all but one of San Diego's seven games so far, so the team appears to be giving him plenty of space to get accustomed to major-league pitching.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Collects first big-league hits

  Rotowire Mar 22, 2024

  Merrill went 2-for-5 with a double and scored two runs in Thursday's 15-11 win over the Dodgers in the second game of the Seoul Series. After going hitless in his first MLB game Wednesday, Merrill collected his first big-league knock with a third-inning single off Michael Grove on Thursday. The rookie added a leadoff double in the fifth frame, and he came around to score following both of his hits. Merrill has gone 2-for-8 with three strikeouts through two contests, and he could have a moderately long leash in center field given the team's lack of outfield depth this season.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Hitless in MLB debut

  Rotowire Mar 20, 2024

  Merrill went 0-for-3 in his major-league debut Wednesday in the first game of the Seoul Series against the Dodgers. The 20-year-old struck the ball fairly well all three times up, but he ended with nothing to show for it in his big-league debut. Merrill had never played center field prior to spring training, but he took well enough to the position to win the job and become the fourth-youngest Opening Day center fielder in the divisional era, per MLB's Sarah Langs. He was the No. 9 hitter Wednesday, though there is always potential for upward movement in the batting order. First things first, Merrill will have to prove that he belongs at the highest level.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Wins center field job

  Rotowire Mar 17, 2024

  Merrill has won the the Padres' Opening Day center field job, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports. The Padres haven't yet officially added Merrill to their 40-man roster, but the outfielder is part of the Friars' 31-man travel roster for its season-opening series with the Padres this week in Seoul, South Korea and is likely on track to be included in the lineup Wednesday and Thursday. Manager Mike Shildt had previously stopped short of naming Merrill the Friars' everyday center fielder, but the skipper hinted as much before the Padres left the United States for South Korea last week. The 20-year-old primarily played at shortstop between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio and combined for 15 home runs and 15 steals in 114 games between the two stops, but he excelled with the transition to center field this spring in addition to slashing .351/.400/.595 with two home runs and two stolen bases in 13 Cactus League games. The toolsy Merrill's long-term future is bright, but he'll likely hit near the bottom of the lineup to begin his big-league career and could have some growing pains at the majors, at least in the early part of the season.

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• Padres' Jackson Merrill: Joining team for opening series

  Rotowire Mar 12, 2024

  Padres manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday that Merrill will travel with the team to South Korea for the team's season-opening Seoul Series against the Dodgers on March 20 and 21, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. After Merrill slugged his second home run of Cactus League play Tuesday, Shildt announced that the 20-year-old will be part of the major-league squad to begin the season, at least for the two-game set in South Korea. The skipper stopped short of naming Merrill the Padres' starting center fielder, but he strongly hinted at the youngster having some runway to show what he can do. "He's earned his way on the plane [to Korea]," Shildt said. "He's earned what's coming after the plane." Merrill has yet to play above the Double-A level and will still need to be officially added to the 40-man roster.

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