By Dennis Lin, Melissa Lockard and Keith Law
The San Diego Padres added prospects Jackson Merrill and Graham Pauley to their Opening Day roster for the Seoul Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres had an opening in the outfield and filled it with Merrill, who typically plays shortstop. He ranks No. 23 on The Athletic’s Keith Law’s top 100 MLB prospects for 2024.
20-year-old Jackson Merrill, @MLBPipeline‘s No. 12 overall prospect, has made the @Padres Opening Day roster! #SeoulSeries pic.twitter.com/VHGMG9BPkk
— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2024
Merrill and Pauley’s inclusions on the roster signal an expected, organizational shift toward a greater reliance on youth. Merrill, who turns 21 next month, for weeks has been a virtual lock to open the season as the Padres’ starting center fielder, a position he had never played before this offseason. Officially, the shortstop prospect has 211 plate appearances above A-ball.
Merrill will be the first highly touted rookie to make his MLB debut in what figures to be a very impressive 2024 rookie class, especially in the National League. The Padres selected him with the No. 27 pick in the 2021 draft out of high school. Primarily a shortstop in the minors, Merrill’s debut in center field is a testament to his outstanding athleticism. He’s a high-contact hitter with power potential and speed who will likely slot toward the bottom of the San Diego lineup early but eventually could be a leadoff hitter.
GO DEEPER
Why Padres shortstop prospect Jackson Merrill is preparing to play the outfield
Pauley has 88 plate appearances above A-ball. The 23-year-old should see time at third base, first base and designated hitter as third baseman Manny Machado continues to build up his arm after October elbow surgery.
San Diego’s roster notably excluded reliever Woo-Suk Go, a standout closer in the Korea Baseball Organization over the past several seasons who was optioned to Triple-A El Paso after struggling this spring.
In other moves, the Padres selected the contract of utility man Tyler Wade, optioned catcher Brett Sullivan to El Paso and placed pitchers Glenn Otto (right teres major strain), Luis Patiño (right elbow inflammation) and infielder Tucupita Marcano (ongoing rehabilitation from knee surgery) on the injured list.
The Padres and Dodgers open the 2024 regular season Wednesday at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The first pitch is set for 6:07 a.m. ET.
Keith Law’s scouting report on Merrill
Otherwise known as Jackson Barrel because, well, it’s not because he likes cognac. Merrill transformed his body in the 2021-22 offseason and has spent the last two years making a ton of contact while playing excellent defense at short, working his way up to Double A before his 21st birthday. Only 14 minor-league hitters who played enough to qualify in full-season ball struck out less often than Merrill’s 12.1 percent rate last season, and he struck out slightly less in Double A than he had in High A — and way less than he did in 2022. He’s gotten quite a bit stronger since high school, but so far that hasn’t translated into hard contact or high BABIPs, as he was under .300 at both stops last year.
Merrill’s typical swing is very short, allowing him to make contact at high rates but at a cost of some of that impact, so the Padres have worked to help him get his lower half involved more and stay back better so that he can at least start to show more pull power. If you look at the body, the swing path through contact, and the feel for the zone, you can project 20-plus homers in time, especially if he can start driving the ball the other way as well as to his pull side. He’s a 55 defender at short now who’ll likely end up plus, while he’s fast enough to handle centerfield and should have no trouble at third or second.
Merrill has a wide range of outcomes despite a high floor; at worst he’s a low-OBP utilityman who plays forever because he can put the ball in play and handle six or seven positions. If the power comes, though, he could be a shortstop with a bat that would profile in right field, hitting for average even with low walk rates and getting to that 20-25 home run upside. — Keith Law, MLB senior writer
Required reading
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
