Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images
San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill is currently battling through a sophomore slump.
Hitting a baseball at the major league level is arguably the most difficult thing to do in all of professional sports.
In the modern era of the game, pitchers consistently throw in the upper 90s, and team that with ungodly breaking pitches.
For these reasons, when a player has success early in their career, they are considered special. Last year, Jackson Merrill enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in franchise history. The left-handed hitter made the jump from Double-A, played a brand-new position (CF), and put up an .826 OPS in 156 games. He was unbelievable and probably should have won the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
This season, he started out on fire for the Padres, hitting .379 in the first 10 games and producing a 1.090 OPS with three homers and 10 RBI. Since then, Merrill has slugged two homers, driven in 19 runs, and produced a .604 OPS in just under 200 at-bats. A hamstring injury hampered him right after his hot start, and he also spent time on the IL with a concussion this season.
Were these injuries a factor? Well, it certainly did not help.
Merril has played in 58 games for San Diego so far this season. His .735 overall OPS is plummeting as he has gone 3-for-35 (.300 OPS) in the month of July with 11 strikeouts. Merrill is enduring horrendous at-bats, where he flails at pitches that are chest-high while taking pitches right down the middle. It’s head-scratching.
This is weighing on Jackson Merrill. He is pressing. You can see it.
On Monday night, Merrill flew out deep to right-center field as Alek Thomas of the D-backs made a great play deep into the outfield gap to rob the outfielder. It was the first out of the ninth inning for Arizona. The sliding play saved the games for the Diamondbacks, and Merrill looked astonished while walking back to the dugout.
Merrill’s numbers since June 15 are astonishing. Mike Shildt keeps dropping him further down the lineup to ignite something in the young slugger.
Jackson Merrill’s is struggling:
Since 6/15:
.164/.266/.200
2 XBH
0 HR
25% K% – 39.1% since July 1st.
42 wrc+
5% Barrel%
On the season:
– Chase% is up from 34.2% to 38.8%.
– Whiff% is up from 20.5% to 27.3%.
Pitchers have found a new weak spot. Up.#ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/SUkFdQ0ORm
— LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) July 8, 2025
Taking a look at this, you’ll see that Merrill’s swing is different from last season.
He is finishing higher with his knob and using different muscles to swing the bat through the zone. Pitching metrics are widely used in today’s game, but swing metrics are gaining recognition and adoption. Recognizing your body’s potential with your specific swing is what makes the difference between a good player and a great player.
Jackson Merrill has 19 extra base hits in 216 AB’s so far this season…
He hit 61 extra base hits in 554 AB’s last season…
Jackson used the muscles of motor tract 2 on both sides of his body last season…
He’s been using the muscles of motor tract 5 on the left side of his… pic.twitter.com/KijRanQHFY
— Prehension Athletics (@tommym8) July 6, 2025
This is an interesting theory and something to monitor as he slowly rectifies his swing.
In the past few games, we’ve seen Jackson Merrill start to recognize and lay off pitches high and out of the zone. Pitch recognition is the first step to his potential success. If he can utilize the same core muscles to guide his swing through the zone like last year, he will barrel up the baseball more often. It will happen.
The game of baseball is about adjustments. If Jackson Merrill can slow down the game a bit mentally and fix his swing mechanics, then a hot streak is imminent. For the Padres, such a streak would come at a great time as the team is still struggling to provide offense daily.
Jackson Merrill is a baseball junkie. He will fix his issues with the bat, and in the end, will be a better player for coming through a slump like this. The game will humble you very fast. For Jackson Merrill, these past few months are a baseball education that will last a lifetime.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
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