Jackson Merrill’s surge is giving the Padres exactly what they needed at exactly the right time.
The San Diego outfielder was named National League Player of the Week after going 12-for-25 with a .480 average, three home runs and 12 RBIs over the last seven days. The Padres won every game in that stretch, stretching their streak to seven straight as they opened a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
It’s the second time Merrill has taken home the award in his career; the first came in August of 2024. Tampa Bay Rays star Victor Mesa Jr. won the American League honor.
Merrill’s week was loud from start to finish, and it also came with a blistering OPS. The production helped push San Diego deeper into the thick of the National League playoff chase.
For much of the season, Merrill was part of a trio - along with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado - that got off to surprisingly slow starts. But all three have since turned things around, and Merrill’s numbers now reflect the rebound.
Entering Monday, he was hitting .248 with 25 home runs, 82 RBI and 77 runs scored. The 25 homers already mark a career high, while his 82 RBI leave him eight shy of matching the 90 he drove in during his rookie season.
He’s also swiped 26 bases, the most he has ever had in a season, and his 77 runs have him tied for the best total of his major league career.
The turnaround has been impossible to miss. The MLB Network crew recently said they “knew he was going to figure it out, eventually.”
And now he has.
The Padres enter the Rockies series at 81-68, sitting in second place in the National League West. They also moved ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card standings.
San Diego now holds a 2.5-game cushion over Arizona for the final Wild Card spot, while sitting just 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. With that kind of pressure building, Merrill’s hot streak has arrived at a perfect moment.
In Other News...
Padres Suddenly Have A Real October Decision With Dustin Harris
Dustin Harris has turned a late-summer detour into a real opportunity for the Padres. Released by Triple-A El Paso on Aug. 5, he was back with the organization two days later, then got the call to the big club on Aug. 24. Since arriving in San Diego, Harris has hit his way into the conversation, batting .355 and making a case with timely production that has fit right into the clubs push down the stretch.
What makes the next few weeks interesting is where the Padres have already chosen to use him. They started Harris in a key spot in the batting order against a left-handed pitcher, a sign that this is no longer just about getting him some at-bats. For a team sorting through postseason roster choices, Harris has moved from an afterthought to a player whose role could be decided by how much the Padres trust that recent offensive burst when October arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Still Have One Ramon Laureano Question Hanging Over October
Ramon Laureano arrived in San Diego as a trade-deadline pickup with the kind of bat and energy the Padres hoped would deepen their lineup for the stretch run, but his 2026 season has been shaped instead by the injury list. The outfielder has been dealing with hip inflammation, and in a recent interview he said the pain first hit him on April 8 before he kept playing through it for nearly two months, a decision that clearly affected what he was able to do on the field.
For the Padres, the immediate question is less about the regular season than whether Laureano can get healthy enough to matter in October. A postseason return looks unlikely, but he has not completely shut the door on it, and he is still working through rehab while also staring at free agency after the 2026 season. Even with the calendar tightening, San Diego still has a reason to monitor every step of his recovery. [Read more 🡒]
Mason Miller Faces A Late-Season Question The Padres Cant Ignore
Mason Miller has the kind of arm that can make a game look simple for a few batters at a time, which is why the Padres have leaned on his fastball and slider in the ninth inning. But as the season grinds into its final stretch, there is a quieter subplot around their closer: he does have a changeup in the mix, even if it has barely surfaced when the games matter most.
Miller has been experimenting with the grip and the speed of the pitch, trying to make it usable enough to matter without disrupting the way he attacks hitters now. The problem is the obvious one for a team in a pennant race, where matchups are tight and every pitch is scrutinized. He knows the challenge is less about learning a new weapon than finding a way to trust it when the pressure is highest. [Read more 🡒]