Jackson Merrill
- San Diego’s roster as it stands starts at CF · 569 PA · 4.2 WAR in the role
- Trade read Unlikely to be traded: A star (4.1 projected WAR): clubs move players like this only in a full rebuild, usually in his last year of control.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 661 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 183 | .329 | .319 | 26% | 3% | 37% | −0.43 | +1.13 |
| RHP | 478 | .332 | .360 | 23% | 6% | 38% | −0.37 | +1.27 |
- Attack angle
- 9.8° (48% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +0.1°
- Swing length
- 7.5 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 29%
- Pull-air %
- 19.2%
- Hard-hit %
- 48.9%
- Slash · wRC+
- .255/.303/.441 · 105
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage down over the middle (+4.5 vs. league per 100; 2.3 standard errors on 126 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down and in (−1.9), but only 0.9 standard errors from average on 98 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,303 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Merrill: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Mark Vientos NYM · ’99 | .304 | −1.1 | 0.4 | Arb |
| 65 | Ty France SD · ’94 | .328 | 3.6 | 1.0 | Free agent |
| 64 | Amed Rosario NYY · ’95 | .309 | −0.2 | 0.0 | Free agent |
| 61 | Victor Mesa Jr. TB · ’01 | .331 | 2.6 | 2.3 | Pre-arb |
| 60 | Jeremiah Jackson BAL · ’00 | .283 | −0.3 | 0.4 | — |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CF | +7 | +6 | +6.3 | +12.3 | 5,775 |
| 2025 | CF | +3 | +2 | +2.7 | +4.7 | 4,190 |
| 2024 | CF | +12 | +11 | −0.3 | +10.8 | 5,559 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 24 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 8 | 13 | 62% |
| ★★★ | 15 | 19 | 79% |
| ★★ | 23 | 27 | 85% |
| ★ | 36 | 39 | 92% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CF | 655 | −7.1 |
| 2025 | CF | 487 | −6.4 |
| 2024 | CF | 625 | +6.4 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025AA | AA | San Antonio Missions | 22 | 2 | 8 PA | 8 PA · .333/.500/.333 · 0 HR · 25.0% K · 12.5% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant