Merrill still mashing, but now on a Mission

Jackson Merrill has officially brought his sweet-swinging ways to Alamo City.

MLB’s No. 9 overall prospect launched his first Double-A home run -- his 11th dinger of the year -- as part of his second straight three-hit effort in the San Antonio Missions’ 10-3 loss.

The 20-year-old has hit safely in five of his first six games at the Double-A level and is clearly not fazed by the increased difficulty of pitching -- he only has two strikeouts in 28 at-bats for the Missions.

After striking out in the first frame, the Padres’ top prospect was ready to put the hurt on the ball his next time up in the fourth. Facing Frisco righty Ryan Garcia, Merrill wasted no time taking advantage of a curveball that caught too much plate. The lefty slugger hacked the offering to the opposite field for a solo homer, his first long ball for San Antonio in six games with the club.

Merrill again went to the opposite field in the next frame -- this time off lefty Grant Wolfram -- giving the shortstop his 18th hit off a southpaw in 60 at-bats this season, good for a .300 average.

Later in the seventh against righty Aidan Anderson, he laced a line drive single up the middle for his third hit of the game, securing his 12th game of the season in which he collected at least three hits, boosting his Double-A average to .321 (9-for-28) and his OPS to .964 with a long ball, two doubles and two triples.

Taken with the 27th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Merrill has done nothing but hit through his first 160 professional games across four different levels. He batted .280 in 31 Rookie ball games the year he was drafted before slashing .325/.387/.482 in 45 games with Single-A Lake Elsinore in 2022, though he was limited due to wrist and hamstring injuries.

Coming into 2023, the Maryland native was ready to put his above-average hit tool to the test. He hit .280 with a .762 OPS with 24 extra-base hits in 68 games with High-A Fort Wayne before earning a promotion to Texas on July 14.

So far, the next level of pitching hasn’t disconcerted Merrill, whose stock has skyrocketed as he continues to brim with potential -- he was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 83 overall prospect in 2022, and he’s risen into the Top 10 in 2023.