Coming into the 2024 season, once again the San Diego Padres had some high expectations in a division that was supposed to be the most competitive in baseball. But something not on their bucket list was Jackson Merrill being one of the most impressive rookies of 2024.
Merrill plays a variety of key positions and he has been consistent. As fantasy championships are starting, every player that is in your starting lineups matters and this rookie could give you fantasy baseball bragging rights for the next year.
Rookie of the Year Frontrunner
After Juan Soto left the Padres for the New York Yankees in the offseason, many thought that the Padres wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype in 2024 but nobody expected Jackson Merrill to have made the impact he has made. Overall, Merrill has hit .286 this year with 23 home runs and 83 RBIs. For fantasy purposes, Merrill is listed as a shortstop and outfielder.
That adds so much flexibility in fantasy because if you have him on your fantasy team, maneuvering a player like him around makes your fantasy team even stronger. It’s rare for a player of the caliber of Merrill to have this much flexibility in fantasy and it makes him more valuable.
On ESPN fantasy, Merrill’s overall position rank is fifth and he averages 2.5 points per game. This is an amazing per-game fantasy point for any player because it’s tough to expect a big amount of fantasy points from non pitchers so getting that is amazing could win you a fantasy championship.
Rest of Season Outlook
As it pertains to championship season in fantasy, the Padres are currently in a wild card spot but don’t have a good shot at winning the National League West which is led by the Los Angeles Dodgers. What that all means is that the Padres will continue to play meaningful games for the rest of the season and that means Merrill will be in the lineup every day.
They mostly play division foes and this division is dealing with numerous amounts of injuries so there are plenty of opportunities for Merrill to continue to play at a high level.
With the position flexibility, there shouldn’t be many excuses why a fantasy owner would not start him daily. With the star power of the Padres, Merrill is still not the player teams are pitching around which gives him many chances to drive in and runs or get on base for the stars in San Diego. So with that all being said, Merrill might be one of the most valuable players in fantasy.
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