Fun to watch?
Showing plenty of fortitude?
Looking nothing like last season’s version of the Padres?
Check, check, check.
We don’t want to be April fools, and sometimes, when a team delivers an encouraging start, it’s more show than substance. But so far, this year’s Padres are displaying the attributes that the disappointing 2023 Padres were lacking in spades.
Instead of presenting fans with slumped shoulders and chins on their chests, these Padres are engaging and intriguing.
Instead of waving a white flag at the first sign of adversity, the local nine is all in on not tapping out until the 27th out.
Jackson Merrill, a gritty and wide-eyed rookie, partially ignites the squad’s groovy vibe rather than waiting for a spark from numerous veterans.
No question, on a team loaded with superstars Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, Merrill is in the middle of things, and not just because he’s breaking his seal as a center fielder.
Yep, Merrill is among the straws stirring the Padres’ drink after 19 games.
That he’s doing it with zero repetitions above the Double-A level before this season is a reason to raise a glass and toast him. And come April 19, Merrill can legally enjoy a social sparkler when blowing out his 21 birthday candles.
Merrill, who has populated both ends of the Padres lineup, already has three three-hit games and is hitting .356.
When the dealing gets tight, Merrill shrugs as his .435 average with two outs trails only the New York Yankees’ Juan Soto, and, yep, that name sounds familiar.
Soto was part of last year’s Fab Four, which included Machado, Tatis and Bogaerts, that morphed into the Fab Flop. The mojo wasn’t there, the wins were inconsistent and the result was the most frustrating season in franchise history, and that’s saying something when dating to 1969.
This year? We’re still a big chunk of games from entering a summer of love, but at first glance, this edition of the Friars makes the heart go pitter-patter.
It’s difficult not to fall head over heels for Merrill, who talks the talk and walks the walk of a player and — this is hard to believe — was in High A ball last April.
What Merrill has done is encouraging, not only for him but also for a team that slashed costs after pushing all the chips to the middle of the table. With a payroll of $100 million less than last year, it was imperative that the Padres unearthed players delivering production as well as value.
With Merrill earning the minimum of $740,000, he’s like an unwanted piece of art at a garage sale that turns out to be a forgotten Van Gogh.
One would have to wield a broad brush to paint Merrill as the savior of the Padres. Better yet, savor his skills at such a young age while embracing the present and daydreaming about his future.
“He’s a superstar in the making,” Machado told reporters. “Little by little, you see it every day.”
Any day now, Merrill will return to Earth. Baseball is built around failure, which is why there are only two kinds of players: a humble one or one about to be humbled.
Merrill has passed the first test.
He’s about making contact instead of banging a ball off the bleachers.
He’s cool with embracing a new position, and the former shortstop showed it when recently robbing the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani of an extra-base hit with a diving catch.
Merrill is riding a rookie wave that will eventually dissipate, but here’s to him staying upright for as long as he can.
Will the Padres hang ten throughout the year? Will this be a season when they make noise in the playoffs after last year’s lousy refrain?
Stay tuned because the resilient Padres show signs of staying the course.
Just maybe, the surprising and exciting Merrill will be among the reasons why.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected]Â and follow him @jparis_sports
