San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) hits a one run single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium on Aug 26. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres Rookie Joins Historic Company That Includes Seattle Mariners Star

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Aug 30, 2024 10:59 AM ET

San Diego Padres rookie Jackson Merrill figures to be a strong candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year this season. He'll battle it out with Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers, but Merrill seems to have the inside track at this point.

The 21-year-old has been a revelation for San Diego, helping replace the incomparable Juan Soto in that lineup. He's made history this season, doing something rarely done before.

Per @JayHayKid of the 'Baseball is Dead' podcast:

Jackson Merrill is the 16th player in MLB history with 20+ HR and 15+ SB in their age-21 season or younger.

He is the 9th in the Wild Card Era, joining Julio Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Andruw Jones & Alex Rodriguez.

Jackson Merrill is the 16th player in MLB history with 20+ HR and 15+ SB in their age-21 season or younger.

He is the 9th in the Wild Card Era, joining Julio Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Andruw Jones & Alex Rodriguez.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) August 29, 2024

That's some great company for Merrill to be in, but it's also just a remember of how special Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez has been early in his career.

Rodriguez is just 23 years old right now but he debuted back in 2022 at the age of 21. In that season, he helped the Mariners get to the playoffs, earned an All-Star appearance and a Silver Slugger Award. He hit .284 with 28 homers, 75 RBI and 25 stolen bases. The Mariners got to the playoffs and won a series, beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild card round.

The M's will be back in action on Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels. They are 4.0 games back in the American League West race.

RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the criticism that Jerry Dipoto has received in Scott Servais's firing, the M's early success under Dan Wilson and the comments made by Ryan Divish recently on the "Marine Layer" podcast. Furthermore, Danny O'Neil, who wrote a tough column calling for Dipoto to be fired joins the show. CLICK HERE:

TYING A-ROD: Shohei Ohtani has tied Alex Rodriguez's historic 1998 season. Here's how. CLICK HERE:

SLICK VIC: Victor Robles has set a Mariners record on the bases. CLICK HERE:

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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