San Diego, CA
Padres Daily: Merrill’s moments; King’s finish; whatever it takes
![Padres Daily: Merrill’s moments; King’s finish; whatever it takes Padres Daily: Merrill’s moments; King’s finish; whatever it takes](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SUT-L-padres-0820-028.jpg?w=1024&h=702)
Good morning,
Jackson Merrill is getting to the ballpark about now.
That’s an exaggeration. But he might get there at 6 a.m. if he thought it was appropriate.
Merrill revealed after his latest bout of heroics last night that he got to Petco Park about 11:30 a.m. yesterday and sat in his car for a half-hour so as not to imposition the clubhouse attendants.
Said Merrill: “I was like, ‘Oh, I came too early. I can’t go in there yet. That’ll piss the clubbies off.’”
On the morning after a long weekend in Colorado — a trip that usually leaves playes sapped — he could not wait to get to the yard.
Veterans have been talking since spring training about the energy the 21-year-old rookie brings. And we have discussed here several times Merrill’s sixth tool — loving to play and playing with only winning in mind.
But he keeps doing the kinds of things he did last night, clearing loaded bases to break a tie and drive in what served as the winning runs in a 5-3 victory over the Twins. So we will continue talking about it all.
In my game story (here), Michael King called Merrill the Padres’ MVP.
King referred to Merrill’s repeated clutch hits. But his assertion regarding Merrill’s importance was based on the entire package.
“He’s 21 years old,” King said. “Everything he does is baseball. It’s not like he has a family that he goes home to and kids that he can go talk to. He gets to the field, and he’s so happy to be here and talks about how we’re all his best friends and we’re just having fun. And now me sitting here having a bad outing, I look at Jackson, I’m like, ‘Alright, that’s the mentality that we need to have.’ So I think it’s just his contagious mentality that we go out and we’re playing a kid’s game and we’re loving each other. And it’s a lot easier game when you’re playing for your brothers.”
I will once again point out it is as if Merrill arrived out of a Mike Shildt dream.
How he does it
Merrill came to the plate in the third inning with two outs and promptly fouled off two fastballs.
“He gave me heaters at the top of the zone, which I like, but I just couldn’t get to them,” Merrill said.
Having gotten Merrill sped up, Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews then went with a changeup. Good thought. Bad execution, as he put the ball just below hip high and on the outer third of the plate.
“You don’t get those mistakes often,” Merrill said. “You gotta take advantage.”
It’s Merrill Madness in San Diego 😤
Jackson Merrill clears the bases for the @Padres. pic.twitter.com/r1TwjQHvDA
— MLB (@MLB) August 20, 2024
Merrill’s approach rarely deviates, which is perhaps the most impressive thing about a player so young. Stay on the fastball. Try to put the ball in play. Do what the game is asking.
“It’s all focus on winning the game,” he said last night. “Because if I’m trying to play for a homer or myself, I roll that over (or) I strike out. Play for the game, try to hit a line drive or single. Play for the win, it’s gonna happen.”
Got it done
King wasn’t thrilled with his outing for how it started. He walked three batters, allowed two runs and threw 64 pitches in the first three innings.
He called his blazing through the next three innings on a total of 21 pitches “lucky,” in large part because Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts made nice plays on hard line drives.
But it was arguably one of King’s most impressive performances of the season.
He could not hit the broad side of an airplane hanger with his sinker, the command of which is generally key to his success. He all but abandoned the pitch in the final three innings, started using his four-seam fastball and cutter more and commanding his changeup and slider better.
“Ruben (Niebla, the Padres pitching coach) said after … it’s another growth aspect of the game for me,” King said. “And yeah, I think earlier in the year that giving up two in the first two innings easily could have spiraled to five, and I’m out after four (innings). And I think the adjustments that I was able to make (helped) but also understand from Ruben and getting his knowledge has been huge for me in terms of going deeper into games.”
Last night was the sixth time in his past eight starts that King has gone at least six innings while allowing no more than two runs. He has a 2.08 ERA in that span. That has lowered his season ERA to 3.18, sixth best among qualifying starters in the National League.
Shaving
With King having worked hard the first three innings and the Padres having their trio of high-leverage relievers rested, Shildt pulled his starter after 85 pitches.
It was an example of what the Padres have done from time to time and will probably do increasingly with King, who is in his first full season as a starter. He reached 141⅓ innings last night, 36⅔ more than his previous career high set last year with the Yankees and 20 innings shy of his minor-league high set across three levels in 2018.
Essentially, they will shave an inning when they can to try to prolong his season.
King set a goal of at least 180 innings in spring training. Niebla felt 150 was more realistic, though he did not put a limit on King and has supported his going as long as his velocity and mechanics hold up.
King was asked whether his pushing past his previous high in innings was more mental or physical.
“I’d like to say it’s neither,” he said. “Physically, I feel great. And mentally, I’m not thinking about it.”
Keeping in touch
King said his wife, Sheila, texts him upwards of 10 times a game. It starts in the first inning and averages at least one every inning after that.
“It’s more for her to tell me that, like, she’s locked into the game,” said King, who doesn’t see the texts until after the game. “But it’s cool. And it’s usually about me, especially when I’m pitching. And then it’ll be, like, whoever did well that day. She’ll be like, ‘Oh, Manny!’ The last freaking three weeks, it’s just Jackson.”
For the record, she is clearly paying attention. Merrill has over his past 17 games hit .323 with four doubles, three triples and five home runs and 17 RBIs. Of those five homers, four tied games in the eighth inning or ninth inning.
Finding a way
The Padres’ four hits last night were their second fewest in a victory this season, more than only their three hits in a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers on May 10.
They tied last night’s game in the first inning on Cronenworth’s groundout that drove in a runner (Luis Arraez) who had reached when he was hit by a pitch. In the third, the bases were loaded for Merrill after Jurickson Profar reached on an error and Cronenworth and Bogaerts walked.
The Padres have the third-highest batting average (.280) and third-best ERA (3.09) in the major leagues while going an MLB-best 21-6 since the All-Star break. But what they have also excelled at more recently is moving runners over (and driving them in) with outs.
“We’re at the point in the season where everybody is content with just getting that run in whatever way it’s possible,” said Cronenworth, whose RBI moved him into a tie for the team lead with Profar with 73. “It’s not the prettiest thing. It’s not the greatest thing for your numbers. But it’s really cool for the team.”
Left makes right
Martín Pérez, who makes his fourth start for the Padres tonight, has cut his walk rate more than in half and almost doubled his strikeout rate since joining the team.
He has talked a few times about varying his pitch mix more.
That different usage is part of a revamping that began when he was in Pittsburgh and also included a mechanical alteration.
Pérez is staying on his back (left) leg more in his delivery, which he said helps his command and gives his pitches more “explosion.”
“I’m trying to not lose my rhythm, because I can feel when I use my left leg more,” he said. “My pitches are moving more. Everything is coming together. I can feel when I’m not using it (enough), and I’m able to make the adjustment.”
Pérez arrived in San Diego with a 5.20 ERA, 16.9 percent strikeout rate and 8.6 percent walk rate in 16 starts. In his three starts for the Padres, he has allowed four runs in 18⅓ innings (1.96 ERA) while striking out 29.6 percent and walking 4.2 percent of the batters he has faced.
“I feel the same way I felt in 2022,” he said, “like every five days I will have a good outing.”
Pérez was an All-Star and finished with a 2.89 ERA over 196⅓ innings for the Rangers in ‘22.
He may have to continue pitching exceptionally well tonight, as the Padres face Twins right-hander Bailey Ober, who has a 1.87 ERA over his past 10 starts (67⅓ innings).
Possible good news
You can read my story (here) for the update on shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, such as it was.
The Padres were not ready to say with any certainty what an MRI on Kim’s right shoulder revealed other than to reveal it was better than feared.
Shildt affirmed after the game that Kim, who had feared the worst, was upbeat.
“Clearly it’s bothering him, but I think he’s comfortable with the findings,” Shildt said. “… I’d be irresponsible to have a timetable on it. But from a big picture, longer term, it looks like he’s going to be OK, and he felt pretty good about the news and how he felt today. But again, we’re not out of the woods clearly, and we’ll take it day by day.”
De Vries down
Jeff Sanders wrote (here) yesterday about the apparent end to Leodalis De Vries’ season due to a shoulder strain.
The 17-year-old De Vries, a shortstop who was playing in low-A, is the Padres’ No.2 prospect behind 18-year-old catcher Ethan Salas. (Within the Padres’ organization, that ranking is probably a toss-up.)
Credit where it’s due
The Padres have announced attendance at more than 45,000 for seven games this season. But last night’s crowd of 40,220 might have been one of the most startling of the season. It was against the Twins on a Monday after most schools are back in session, and there was no giveaway to entice fans.
Also, the new intro for closer Robert Suarez’s entrance is pretty sweet. Suarez was not interested in changing his walk-up song from “Bandoleros” by Don Omar, which is a pretty low-tempo reggaeton number. But what the Padres production team concocted, with the stadium’s lights out and a camera person following behind as Suarez jogs in from the bullpen as fans hold up their phones with the flashlights on, works well. Without prompting, many fans held up their phones when the new intro debuted last homestand. And the number doing so has increased each time Suarez has entered a game.
La entrada de Robert Suárez es ELECTRIZANTE 🇻🇪⚡️#TiempoExtraRD#SanDiegoPadres pic.twitter.com/aFZneRRveB
— Tiempo Extra RD (@TiempoExtraVE) August 14, 2024
And finally, it is about time “All the Small Things” by blink-182 started to catch on as a late-inning singalong at Petco Park. The Padres played the song from time to time over the past two season to mixed results. But they recently began playing it in the eighth inning of games in which the team is ahead or tied, and the crowd is increasingly participating. It is a nod to one of the finest organically created moments in team history, when “All the Small Things” played during a downpour as the Padres rallied to take the lead for good over the Dodgers in the decisive game of the 2022 National League Division Series.
Petition to make “All the Small Things” by @blink182 a regular fixture at Padres games pic.twitter.com/Td52HDNDxA
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) February 12, 2023
Tidbits
- Arraez was excited to play the Twins, who he signed with as a teenager and played for from 2019 through ‘22. Jeff Sanders’ wrote about that (here) in yesterday’s game preview. On the first night, it was a somewhat painful reunion, as two different Twins pitchers bounced pitches into Arraez. It was the first time in his career that Arraez was hit by two pitches in a game.
- Merrill’s double was his 35th extra-base hit in his past 60 games. He is among a dozen major leaguers since 1900 to have that many extra-base hits in that short a span at age 21 or younger. Among the others: Joe DiMaggio, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson and Ted Williams.
- Merrill’s .290 batting average is tops among qualifying rookies and tied with Profar and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani for sixth in the NL.
- Cronenworth was 0-for-2 last night but was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning to go along with his walk. He is batting just .245 in August but has a .375 on-base percentage and has reached base at least once in all but one of his 16 games this month.
- The Padres were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position last night and are just 6-for-34 (.176) over their past four games. However, one of the greatest indicators of their success continues to be the number of at-bats they have with runners on second and/or third base. They are 41-7 when they have at least 10 such at-bats.
- Jason Adam worked his ninth scoreless inning for the Padres last night. He struck out the side in the seventh and has 13 strikeouts in his nine appearances since being acquired in a July 28 trade with the Rays.
- The Padres are 26-17 in games in which they lost a lead at some point. They were 18-33 in such games last season.
- Tyler Wade started in place of Kim last night and went 0-for-3. Still, the Padres are 20-12 in games in which Wade starts.
- By the way, Arraez’s new do. Yes!
This week, a hot new bombshell enters the villa 🤭 pic.twitter.com/gU4q49ATw4
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 20, 2024
All right, that’s it for me.
Talk to you tomorrow.
P.S. If you are reading this online, there is an easier way to get this newsletter. And it’s free. Sign up (here) to have Padres Daily delivered to your inbox virtually every morning after games.
Originally Published:
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
San Diego, CA
Why play coy? Clutch Merrill could be ROY
![Why play coy? Clutch Merrill could be ROY Why play coy? Clutch Merrill could be ROY](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/xningrw4yqjx5vdy4xuv.jpg)
San Diego, CA
Three Up, Three Down: San Diego Padres
![Three Up, Three Down: San Diego Padres Three Up, Three Down: San Diego Padres](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jZFiR0xzUp3Knrv2wwVCv4vZ124=/0x0:4836x2532/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25580070/2166661546.jpg)
I tried doing these series previews early in the season before they ended up being too time-consuming and real life got in the way. Anyone who has read my in-depth pieces or listened to my podcast with John Ke knows brevity is not my strong suit. This time around, I borrowed a format from our mutual friend, Bleed Cubbie Blue site manager Al Yellon, to hopefully limit myself while still providing the relevant analysis. Let’s get into it.
Three Up
Old Friends, New Places
The Padres have a few former Twins, including fan-favorite and two-time batting champ Luis Arraez. I don’t want to rail against a three-time All-Star too much, but this is just your yearly reminder that batting average isn’t important in 2024. Arraez is second in the NL in BA among qualified hitters but has only accumulated 0.5 fWAR, ranking 65th among qualified NL batters and 128th overall in the NL.
What has Arraez’s value so low? The rest of his profile has regressed to the point the Twins feared when they traded him away two years ago. Defensively, he is limited to DH already at 27-years-old. In his limited time on the field, he ranks last in Outs Above Average and the bottom 10th percentile of arm strength. On the offensive side, there’s no power with a bottom-five .073 ISO and only 19 of his 110 hits going for extra bases. He has a 10th-percentile average exit velocity, 2nd-percentile barrel rate, and 3rd-percentile hard-hit rate. Weirdly, his chase rate is also way up compared to when he was with the Twins, ranking in the 12th percentile there. He doesn’t whiff when he chases leading to countless weak outs early in counts, which is worse than a whiff. Oh also, his 3.4% walk rate is the second worst in baseball, giving him the same OBP as Willi Castro who is hitting .258. Overall, Arraez has a league-average 103 wRC+ while making over $10 million and another hefty raise due in arbitration this summer. It’s not what you want.
The Padres also have 2023 curse-breaking legend Donovan Solano on their bench. Solano has actually out-produced Arraez this season by both fWAR (1.0 vs 0.5) and wRC+ (122 vs 103) despite playing in half the games. The Twins will also see Bomba Squad starter Martín Pérez in the series. Perez has been okay since departing the Twins Cities but has seen made meaningful improvements since arriving in San Diego, nearly doubling his strikeout rate while cutting his walk rate in half. That’s a recipe for success.
New Rotation Pieces
Speaking of rotation additions, the Padres also acquired Dylan Cease and Michael King in offseason trades. Cease has taken a meaningful step forward from where he was in 2022 when he finished second in Cy Young voting, striking out more even batters while limiting his walks and hits to career lows. He also threw a no-hitter two weeks ago, something he nearly did against the Twins in 2022 before Arraez broke it up with two outs in the ninth. Minnesota will avoid him in this series, luckily.
They will have to face Michael King, the crown jewel of the Juan Soto trade. King converted to starting toward the end of 2023 and dazzled in the new role. He was a power sinker/sweeper guy as a reliever but has added a changeup that might be his best pitch. Finally, a quick shout-out to Michael Waldron, a knuckleballer who has quietly been decent this season, which is always fun.
Unexpected Stars
The Padres’ surprising success, despite trading away Soto and stars Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis missing time due to injury, has been thanks to their emerging stars. Veteran Jurickson Profar and rookie Jackson Merrill lead the team in fWAR, despite neither having a clear path to the Opening Day roster a few months ago. Profar has broken out at 31 years old with a 147 wRC+, trailing only MVP contenders Shohei Ohtani, Ketel Marte, and Marcel Ozuna. Merill, meanwhile, never played a game above AA before breaking camp as the team’s centerfielder, a position he had never played prior to Spring Training. The 21-year-old has thrived on instincts while putting up All-Star offense, trailing only Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton, and Jarren Duran in wRC+ among centerfielders.
They’ve also gotten surprising contributions from veterans David Peralta, Kyle Higashioka, and Solano. Each has a wRC+ at least 15% above league average, exactly what this Padres team needed around their stars.
Three Down
Tatis’ Latest Injury
Fernando Tatis has had an rollercoaster career but has settled in as a rock-solid contributor since moving to right field last season. Tatis isn’t showing the gaudy offensive numbers he did early on, but is still well above average in that department while putting up some of the best defensive metrics in baseball. He’s been out since mid-June with a stress reaction in his right femur, something that could easily turn into a multi-year injury if not given enough time to heal. The Padres have to be careful, and the aforementioned Peralta is filling in admirably in the meantime, but any World Series hopes San Diego carries feature Tatis front and center.
Kim in Question
Ha-Seong Kim has quietly emerged as one of the more valuable players around the league. The Korean product is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game and has improved to be a league-average hitter, a marked step up from his early career. Kim jammed his throwing shoulder diving back to first base yesterday and may end up on the IL. He will almost assuredly miss this series, which is a major hit for San Diego. Though the team is essentially built out of former shortstops, they don’t have a clear replacement on the roster.
The logical candidate would be Xander Bogaerts, a career shortstop before 2024, but he slid over to second because his defense had fallen off a cliff. He also is coming off an extended IL stint with a shoulder injury of his own, and the Padres likely don’t want to risk losing another key cog. Other options include infielder Jake Cronenworth who has played all over the infield but has settled in primarily at first and second base and hasn’t played short in any extended role since 2021. Utility man Tyler Wade is also on the roster, but he is a zero offensively. Regardless of the choice, expect to see a lot more Donovan Solano in the lineup as he will backfill whoever moves over.
Hot, Hot, Hot
This is more of a “down” for the Twins because there’s not much negative to say about this team right now! The Twins are tied for the most wins in baseball since August 1 with 11. The team they’re tied with? The San Diego Padres, who have gone 11-4 since then and 20-6 since the All-Star break. It’s all clicking at the right time for the Dads. Depending on your current feelings on the Guardians and Orioles, this might be the best team the Twins face the rest of the way.
Another day, another failure of brevity. Listen, I had an Arraez rant locked and loaded and we don’t see the Padres often, so I had a lot to say. Cut me some slack.
San Diego, CA
Two New Dining Options Land Next to Petco Park
![Two New Dining Options Land Next to Petco Park Two New Dining Options Land Next to Petco Park](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ikQwCkbCq67dlf-bV2DQBx5IMiA=/0x977:1536x1781/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25577770/Tortuga_Ocean_Bowl___Hearts_of_Palm___Shrimp_Ceviche.jpg)
After completing a $30 million renovation, the Omni San Diego is introducing two new restaurants that have been renamed and refreshed just in time to catch the last leg of summer and the regular baseball season.
Ace Porter anchors the luxury hotel, taking over the space where McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks once occupied. Open to the public as well as hotel guests, the restaurant has a separate arbored entrance from the street for walk-in visitors to the 95-seat space. there’s a separate arbored entrance from the street to welcome walk-ins and visitors to the 95-seat restaurant. As it’s the only hotel that has direct access to Petco Park via an elevated sky bridge, Ace Porter’s bar — which stays open late — will pay homage to its proximity to the ballpark with a baseball motif that features chandeliers outfitted with small spheres that resemble baseballs and leather bar seats meant to fit guests like a baseball glove.
The baseball theme carries throughout the menu, giving Padres fans more pre- or post-game dining options. Menu categories range from “designated hitters,” to “clubhouse,” and “post-game” with highlights including seven-ounce blackened Angus burgers with crispy cheese, blistered shishito peppers, a chicken and waffle cone sundae, and Frings nachos.
Located on the sixth floor, Tortuga is a new rooftop restaurant with a view of the city skyline. The 10,670-square-foot terrace has indoor and outdoor tables, an expansive U-shaped outdoor bar, firepit seating, and private dining space. Adjacent to the dining terrace is the large hotel pool and 13 cabanas.
Ace Porter and Tortuga are headed by executive chef Wenceslao Zavala, who brings a familiarity with Baja California cuisine to his menus, having run a pandemic-era beachside food truck featuring smoked meats and fish in Rosarito Beach.
On Tortuga’s poolside terrace, hotel guests and locals alike can dive into coastal fare, including grilled Baja fish tacos, birria tacos, poke salad, and shrimp adobada, or grilled shrimp in an adobo sauce. Bottle service, champagne, local beers, and cocktails, like lychee martinis and blood-orange bellinis, will also be available. Tortuga is planning for a grand opening party on August 28 that’ll feature bites from the menu, summer cocktails, and a DJ.
-
Ohio6 days ago
Ohio taxpayers sent families $966 million for private school tuition: Capitol Letter
-
World1 week ago
What could an EU Commissioner do to tackle the housing crisis?
-
News7 days ago
Roger Stone says his email accounts were how the hackers got into the Trump campaign
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump legal cases in limbo after SCOTUS immunity ruling, freeing up schedule to campaign
-
News1 week ago
Full Trump-Musk Interview: Assassination Bid, Iran-Israel, Russia-Ukraine, Kamala-Biden, US Election
-
Politics1 week ago
Secret Service apologizes after breaking into Massachusetts salon to use bathroom before Harris fundraiser
-
Science7 days ago
Opinion: A route to safer chemotherapy
-
Politics1 week ago
Harris voters defend Democratic presidential nominee on Israel-Hamas conflict: ‘She’s married to a Jewish guy’