In the midst of a final push for the playoffs, the Padres are getting a major boost from Jackson Merrill. Merrill, who’s been rather quiet in his sophomore season, is picking up steam in a big way.

It’s no secret that Jackson Merrill hasn’t made the same impact that we saw in his rookie season. Although he missed several stints of time with injury, Merrill is posting 2.4 fWAR through 104 games in 2025. That doesn’t even make up half of his 2024 total of 5.3.

However, Merrill found a second wind, hitting four homers across the last eight days. Posting a slash line of .313/.333/.875, Merrill ranks among the top sluggers across the past week. His bat speed has increased, and his comfort level appears to be at the highest it’s been all season.

Jackson Merrill joins the home run party 😤 pic.twitter.com/MKALV00f9g

— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2025

Overall, the Padres could benefit from more individual stories like this. As it stands, San Diego remains the second-worst home-run-hitting team in the MLB. All season, they’ve stocked the bottom of their lineup with contact-first hitters, hoping that the middle of the order could provide the slug. Merrill has been a major missing piece in that narrative, and as a result, the Padres haven’t been a great scoring offense.

What’s clicking for Merrill

For starters, he’s covering the entire plate exceptionally well. Not only is he handling the straight fastballs, but he’s also dealing damage to the sinkers, the sliders, and the changeups. He’s taking full advantage of every strike that he sees, and most importantly, maintaining aggression deep in counts.

Secondly, he’s swinging freely, making hard contact to all fields. Merrill was a .292 hitter across 150+ games last season for a reason: he can take what he is given. What I mean by that is that he doesn’t get pull-happy with the baseball. There’s no true ‘weak spot’ in Merrill’s strike zone when he’s playing at his best.

Although he’s still chasing and whiffing at below-average rates, he’s made improvements. Specifically, he’s improved at taking high, out-of-zone fastballs. Correspondingly, he’s also made strides in hitting high fastballs in the zone. Two of his recent home runs have come on sinkers placed on the upper-outside corner.

Jackson Merrill goes the opposite way to double the @Padres lead 💪 pic.twitter.com/bV2ul7XDBM

— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2025

The impact on the lineup

Merrill’s sudden outburst opens the door for the Padres to become elite offensively once more. In a season full of ruthless individual slumps, Merrill’s inability to see the field and produce on the daily has added turbulence. With Merrill getting more involved, the Padres’ lineup instantly looks like a deep unit—despite what the numbers say.

Hitting in the middle of the lineup, the extra-base hits have been monumental for the Padres. His 9 RBIs are a product of the Padres’ offensive system working to perfection. Fernando Tatis Jr, Luis Arraez, and Manny Machado have been excellent table setters, and when Merrill is able to hit for power, San Diego is right back to where they were in the year prior.

The key to carrying his success into the postseason

It’s encouraging to see Merrill thriving now, but the real hope is that he can carry it into October. San Diego is currently pushing to overtake the Dodgers or Cubs to secure home-field advantage, or even a first-round bye. However, it’s likely that the Padres will clinch a spot in the coming weeks, and with that in mind, the final weeks can be viewed as a tune-up.

The biggest key for Merrill will be to continue using the whole field and swinging hard. Although he has chase issues, he struggles the most when he’s being passive with the bat. Check swings, hard rollovers, and an overly defensive approach are often the effects of this.

First-pitch aggression will be a major aspect to monitor, as will be his overall bat speed. Clearly, it would be unrealistic to expect the elite 2024 version to return of the span of a week, but the playoffs are short and sweet. All it takes is a few strong performances, and Merrill’s near-100-game struggle of 2025 will be instantly forgotten.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a public baseball media account covering around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X. Willy is set to attend the Cronkite School of Journalism in the fall of 2026 at Arizona State University, where he’ll pursue a major in sports journalism.