Padres Announce Jackson Merrill News After Loss to Diamondbacks

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 11:49 PM ET

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill is one of the brightest young stars in baseball. Selected No. 27 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, Merrill made his debut last season. Appearing in 156 games for San Diego, the 22-year-old posted a 126 OPS+ and drove in 90 runs.

Finishing second in 2024 NL Rookie of the Year voting to Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes, Merrill also finished ninth in MVP voting. While he came up short for those two awards, he did make the All-Star team and received Silver Slugger honors.

Now in his second MLB season, Merrill has shown no signs of a sophomore slump.

Entering Saturday, Merrill was sporting an .822 OPS that is just narrowly behind his rookie mark. His .304 batting average entering the weekend is slightly up from last season, as is his .346 on-base percentage.

In the seventh inning against Arizona, Merrill was caught attempting to steal second base. Visibly shaken up after the tag from Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte caught him in the head, Merrill was replaced defensively in center field by Brandon Lockridge.

Jackson Merrill is down with an apparent injury after attempting to steal second base pic.twitter.com/SobemA1T8l
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 15, 2025

While there was no immediate update from the Padres, the team announced postgame via manager Mike Shildt that Merrill is "woozy" but they have not made a decision yet on whether he will enter concussion protocol ( via 97.3 The Fan).

On the play that caused Merrill's exit, Shildt said, "Completely clean play by Marte. Just happened where the ball landed, the tag, right in his forehead. It didn't knock him out, but he is still woozy."

After a late collapse against Arizona, the Padres are now 38-31 on the season, which ranks third in the NL West behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Merrill is a huge piece to what they do, and one of the game's fastest rising stars.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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