There have been just two high school position players from Maryland who have been drafted in the top five rounds this century, outfielders Troy Stokes Jr. in 2014 and Matt McPhearson in 2013, both taken in the fourth round. Merrill, who was seen a little bit last summer at a team tournament at USA Baseball’s facility in Cary, N.C., has been a pop-up prospect for most of this spring, and now he has the chance to join that very select group.
A 6-foot-3, left-handed-hitting infielder, Merrill has some intriguing tools that had scouts pouring into Maryland late in this extended Draft season. He has a good feel to hit with decent bat speed, showing the ability to use the whole field with some solid raw power he could grow into. He can have more of an inside-out swing at times and will have to learn how to turn on pitches to his pull side more to get to his power more consistently.
Scouts like the way Merrill moves as a shortstop, with good actions and hands, with enough arm to give him the chance to at least start out at the premium position. The only question is his run tool, which could mean an eventual move to third or second, with confidence the University of Kentucky recruit can stay on the dirt long-term.
The highest Maryland high school position player selected since 1986, Merrill went 27th overall to the Padres in 2021 and signed for below slot at $1.8 million. He put himself on the Top 100 radar at Single-A Lake Elsinore the following year despite being limited by wrist and hamstring injuries, and he made up the lost time with an aggressive move to the Arizona Fall League. He got off to a slow start with High-A Fort Wayne in '23 but slashed .310/.342/.474 over his final 50 games with the TinCaps, earning a mid-July bump to Double-A San Antonio. He slashed .273/.338/.444 with 104 wRC+ over 46 games the rest of the way in the Texas League.
Batting from the left side, Merrill uses an all-fields approach to pepper the ballpark with base knocks while protecting the plate. He doesn’t whiff often for his age and experience with an 8.1 percent swinging-strike rate that ranked 10th-best among qualified full-season Minor Leaguers aged 20 or younger in 2023. He did a better job of elevating balls last season, cutting down his ground-ball rate from 59.6 percent to 42.5, and that helps the belief that he’ll settle into above-average power later in his 20s.
Merrill is on the taller side for shortstop at 6-foot-3 but has improved his quickness enough in pro ball to help the belief that he can stick at shortstop. However, as Merrill climbed into the upper levels, San Diego gave him looks at second base, left field and even one start at first to see if he can get out of the shadow of more options at short. He is expected to move around more because of his proximity to the bigs. That underlines how much belief the club has in the bat and how quickly Merrill could move in his age-21 season.
Merrill became the highest Maryland high-school position player selected since 1986 when he went 27th overall to the Padres in the 2021 Draft. After signing for below slot at $1.8 million, the left-handed hitter produced a solid .722 OPS in the Arizona Complex League that summer and was showing major signs of a breakout with Single-A Lake Elsinore (.325/.387/.482), though wrist and hamstring injuries limited him to only 45 games in the California League. San Diego made an aggressive move in sending the 19-year-old to the Arizona Fall League, and Merrill responded by being one of the most talked about prospects in the advanced loop, despite modest numbers.
On the taller side for a shortstop at 6-foot-3, Merrill showed a promising mix of discipline and an all-fields approach in the early stages of his career and took those to the next level everywhere he played in 2022. To prove the point, his pull (38.5 percent) and opposite-field (39.1) rates were nearly equal at Lake Elsinore. He should still add muscle as he matures and could grow into above-average power at his Major League peak, especially if he starts to elevate batted balls more.
While it was once a question of if Merrill would have to move off short someday, he’s improved his lateral quickness enough to erase those concerns, and San Diego officials were often wowed at how much his arm strength improved in his first full season. The next step will be keeping Merrill on the field for a full campaign after last year’s injury concerns, and if he does that, the Padres could be even more ecstatic that he was the big-name prospect they kept around following the Juan Soto blockbuster trade.
Prior to Merrill, there had been just two high school position players from Maryland who have been drafted in the top five rounds this century, outfielders Troy Stokes Jr. in 2014 and Matt McPhearson in 2013, both taken in the fourth round. Merrill became the highest pick of that group when San Diego called his name 27th overall in 2021. Merrill passed on his Kentucky commitment and signed for below slot value at $1.8 million and then put together a solid professional debut, slashing .280/.339/.383 with nine extra-base hits over 31 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
A 6-foot-3, left-handed-hitting infielder, Merrill has a good feel for hitting and some power that he’ll grow into as he continues to develop. He improved his timing at the plate last summer and utilizes the whole field when he’s in the box. He can have more of an inside-out swing at times and will have to learn how to turn on pitches to get to his power more consistently.
While there’s a chance Merrill could outgrow shortstop and eventually move to second or third, the Padres do plan on keeping him at shortstop for the time being. With an above-average arm and soft hands, Merrill has the tools needed to stick at shortstop. The organization has also been impressed with his maturity and mental makeup as he’s drawn strong reviews for his work ethic.
Prior to Merrill, there had been just two high school position players from Maryland who have been drafted in the top five rounds this century, outfielders Troy Stokes Jr. in 2014 and Matt McPhearson in 2013, both taken in the fourth round. Merrill, who was seen a little bit last summer at a team tournament at USA Baseball’s facility in Cary, N.C., was a pop-up prospect for most of this spring and became the highest pick of that group when San Diego called his name at 27th overall. Merrill signed for below slot at $1.8 million.
A 6-foot-3, left-handed-hitting infielder, Merrill has a good feel to hit with decent bat speed, showing the ability to use the whole field with some solid raw power he could grow into. He can have more of an inside-out swing at times and will have to learn how to turn on pitches to his pull side more to get to his power more consistently.
Scouts like the way Merrill moves as a shortstop, with good actions and hands, and enough arm to give him the chance to at least start out at the premium position. The only question is his run tool, which could mean an eventual move to third or second. At the least, he should stay on the dirt in the San Diego system.
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
25
24
26
28
20
29
30
28
23
16
22
29
24
22
30
20
19
24
28
33
27
27
33
26
20
23
16
12
31
26
24
Player
25
24
26
28
20
29
30
28
23
16
22
29
24
22
30
20
19
24
28
33
27
27
33
26
20
23
16
12
31
26
24
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here