Padres' Jackson Merrill Frustrated Amid Brutal Slump

The San Diego Padres have gone 9-11 in their past 20 games.

In that span, superstar Jackson Merrill has been hitting .200 with 20 strikeouts and six RBIs. The frustrated center fielder spoke on his recent struggles after an 0-for-5 outing on Monday, his third over the last week.

“I’m missing pitches,” Merrill said. “That’s the bottom line. I’m missing pitches to hit. And the pitches that are usually crushed that are in the zone, I’m not hitting them. I’m hitting foul balls. My bottom line is just missing those pitches that are in the zone. Yeah, I’m chasing the ball, but like I’m missing pitches I can hit before I swing at pitches I can’t hit.”

Merrill also spoke on working on the defensive side of his game while his bat is still cold in hopes to continue being an effective player.

“I haven’t been doing s--- with the bat,” Merrill said. “I have to do something with my glove. It’s always like that. Whenever you can’t produce on one side of the ball, how can you produce on the other side of the ball. Stay locked in always, and don’t give anything away.”

At the end of the day, the young superstar is still remaining patient as he remains a well above average fielder with one of the best arms in the sport.

“Nothing takes away from the noise and frustration of struggles,” Merrill said. “It sucks. It’s not good, and I know that. It’s tough, but there are two sides of the ball.”

Overall, Merrill is hitting .266 on the year with a .726 OPS. When he is making contact, it is far less powerful than he is used to.

He ranks in just the 26th percentile of MLB in terms of hitting the ball 95 mph or faster, only doing so 37.7 percent of the time. His average exit velocity is at 88.5 mph, just the 29th percentile in the majors.

At the plate, Merrill is among the worst when it comes to chasing pitches outside of the strike zone, doing so 39.2 percent of the time, or the fifth percentile in MLB. His swing-and-miss rate is also abysmal, grading out in just the 30th percentile in baseball.

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