Paid in Jacksons

 

So just to recap, Jackson Chourio got his payday before he'd played a game, and Jackson Merrill got his payday a year into his career. All I'm saying is Jackson Holliday has got to be thankful his dad made a little money back in the day or else he'd be getting some serious FOMO.

The Padres had been undefeated before the Cubs came to town, and so much of it had to do with Jackson Merrill and his wild start to the season. So far the OF bat is hitting .375 with 12 hits, 8 RBIs and 2 homers. The realized beauty of seeing Merrill and Tatis, and Machado, surging at the same time has been incredible for Padres fans. Even post-Seidler, Merrill is the kind of sure thing player that has reignited the team's outlook. He's young, he's versatile, he's great defensively, he can hit for power and contact. He's just come along at the exact right time, and it's gotta be exhilarating. 

I do think it's very telling how Merrill factors into this team several years into the Fernando Tatis story. Tatis was also this multi-tool guy, then got caught cheating, struggled with an injury and now is...well-regarded but not as well-regarded as he was. And he's still very good! Dude's hitting .400 so far this season! Not even Luis Arraez is doing that somehow. Tatis is leaning into contact, getting on base and not striking out a lot. At 26, he's still very much in his prime, he's finally got a defensive position he's comfortable in, and can still lead the team like he used to. And I think that if he hadn't gotten into trouble they wouldn't NEED a second guy like Merrill to supplant him. So it's a very complicated case. I think right now there is still room for the both of them to excel in San Diego, but I don't know how much longer that'll be a viable plan. 

The Padres themselves, Cubs series notwithstanding, have remained near the top of the very impressive NL West in a full team effort. The rotation, of Dylan Cease, Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vazquez and Kyle Hart, has been extremely solid so far. Even if Pivetta gave up runs yesterday he still kept striking people out. Even if Vazquez was credited with a loss his ERA is still 1.69. This is a really nice group of starters, and this is even without Darvish, Musgrove or Waldron. The bullpen has been excellent so far, thanks to dominance from Robert Suarez, Wandy Peralta, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and the unsurprisingly-much-happier-in-2025 Jason Adam. It'll be interesting to see how Adam does in June, but that's a-ways away. 

The Padres, thanks to Jackson Merrill, are back in the thick of things and making the NL West a fun, competitive division this year. The Dodgers and Giants want it just as badly, so from the looks of things this'll be a fun ride all the way through.

Coming Tonight: When we traded for him, I knew he'd do well in New York. I just knew, it was an immediate instinct. And I was right.