San Diego Padres rookie outfielder Jackson Merrill (knee) fouled a ball off his leg (just above his knee) in Friday night's win over the division-rival San Francisco Giants at Petco Park and was replaced in center field by Tyler Wade due to a left-patellar contusion, according to the team. Before hitting the showers early, Merrill went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the 5-1 victory. The good news for the 21-year-old is that X-rays came back clear on his knee, so fantasy managers can consider him day-to-day heading into Game 2 of the series on Saturday. Don't be surprised if Merrill is out, though. The former 27th overall pick in 2021 has been a huge clutch piece of the Friars' offense in his first year in the big leagues in 2024 and entered Friday's game with a .292/.323/.498 slash line with an .821 OPS, 22 homers, 82 RBI and 16 stolen bases. Merrill is relevant in all fantasy formats and hopefully won't miss too much time.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill came up clutch for his team during Sunday's game against the New York Mets. The rookie slugger saved his lone hit of the game for the ninth inning. Merrill blasted a solo home run off right-hander Edwin Diaz to give his team the win. The left-handed slugger is now tied with Colton Cowser for the most homers by a rookie at 19. He's hitting .288 with 72 RBI across 127 games this season. Fantasy managers should continue locking Merrill into their lineup on a daily basis.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill homered on Saturday in a 9-8 victory over the Miami Marlins. Merrill connected in the eighth inning off reliever Anthony Bender, tying the game at eight runs apiece. The rookie sensation is hitting .294 with 17 home runs, 64 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and 58 runs scored on the season. He has become a stalwart for the Padres, who have won seven games in a row and are surging in the NL West.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill had a big night in his team's 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins in 10 innings on Friday. Merrill went 3-for-4 with a triple, a homer, a walk, two RBI, and two stolen bases in the extra-innings win. The rookie's solo homer came at a very opportune time as it tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning. Merrill is putting together a strong debut season, hitting .294 with four triples, 16 homers, 57 runs, 62 RBI, and 13 steals over 398 at-bats. He's been red-hot of late, hitting .418 with four homers and 16 RBI over his past 15 contests.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill racked up four hits in Wednesday night's wild extra-inning win over the hosting Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, launching two home runs in the victory. After putting the Padres on the board by crushing a solo homer off Pirates left-hander Marco Gonzales to center field in the second inning, Merrill hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and tied the game in the ninth frame with his second solo shot of the night on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. In his last 12 outings since July 24, the 21-year-old top prospect is hitting .378 (17-for-45), with three long balls, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored as San Diego's primary center fielder.