The Padres player quietly heating up amid postseason push

Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Padres player quietly heating up amid postseason push

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Chris Spiering, ClutchPoints | Last updated Aug 10, 2026 3:57 PM ET

The San Diego Padres are winning games, and people are starting to notice the major reason why. The offense has done a full 180.

At the start of the season, the Friars’ offense was miserable. As a result, their season-long numbers are still terrifying. However, since roughly a week before the All-Star break, the offense has been much better. Over the last month, players like Jackson Merrill , Fernando Tatis Jr, Ty France, and Luis Rengifo have propelled the offense to wins.

Even though Tatis Jr’s home run total is down, he is still hitting the ball very hard and getting on base. He’s actually been productive all season long. Merrill, on the other hand, suddenly got hot about a month ago and has not slowed down since. His numbers since July 1 are among the best in baseball, and he is proving once again that he is a Top 5 center fielder in the sport.

Everyone is raving about Merrill right now.

Jackson Merrill owns a 18.5% barrel rate since the All Star break.

That’s tied w/ Pete Crow-Armstrong and Riley Greene for 1st among all MLB OF’s: pic.twitter.com/g4zKH3FB33

— Clark Fahrenthold (@CFahrenthold11) August 10, 2026

Jackson Merrill from Opening Day to July 1st:

81 G: .211/.271/.341, 15 doubles, 8 HR, 31 RBI and 71 wrc+

Jackson Merrill since:

35 G: .316/.347/.574, 3 doubles, 10 HR, 28 RBI and 153 wrc+.

1.5 of his 2.5 fWAR comes from his last 23 games.pic.twitter.com/qi5SY3C6FO

— LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) August 10, 2026

Jackson Merrill's CF ranks since July:

H: T-1st (43)
HR: 1st (10)
RBI: 2nd (28)
AVG: 4th (.316)
SLG: 2nd (.574)
OPS: 3rd (.921)
wRC+: 3rd (153)
fWAR: 3rd (1.7)

Merrill's turnaround has been HUGE for San Diego's playoff push pic.twitter.com/8zovS6uUac

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 10, 2026

Jackson Merrill is hitting .378 with a 207 wRC+ over his last 21 games!

DeRo dives in on the @Padres star's recent tear and a few of his swing mechanics that up-and-coming ballplayers should look to replicate. pic.twitter.com/C9rX9XrtzP

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 10, 2026

Social media, including MLB Network, is amazed at how well the lefty is playing at this point in the season. He is a major part of why the Friars are now in postseason consideration.

ClutchPoints’ Joey Mistretta recently predicted that the Padres will win the World Series in 2026. Nobody out there would have considered that prediction if Merrill did not turn his season around.

Merrill is best suited hitting 5th in the Padres lineup behind Ty France and Manny Machado. He’s moved down to second in the lineup before, but the lineup feels more balanced with him right in the middle of it. If Merrill does find a way to move back up in the lineup, then expect Gavin Sheets to replace him in the middle of the lineup.

If manager Craig Stammen keeps Merrill 5th, this is the best lineup the Padres can put out there after the addition of Austin Hays.

Fernando Tatis Jr. RF
Luis Rengifo 2B
Manny Machado 3B
Ty France 1B
Jackson Merrill CF
Luis Campusano C
Gavin Sheets DH
Xander Bogaerts SS
Austin Hays LF
Bench: Freddy Fermin C, Jase Bowen OF, Jake Cronenworth INF, & Sung-Mun Song INF