Far out, this Padres outfield.

Who could have predicted the entire group, from foul line to foul line, would be named to the All-Star Game?

How is it possible — fathomable — that the biggest collective question mark on the team as spring sprung would become its muscle-flexing strength?

As shadows began to creep across the left field-side sections of Petco Park on Sunday, fans learned that rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill would join National League starters Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr..

Rewind to the early months of 2024, when the hand-wringing over the outfield left those hands red and raw. Sure, Profar seemed like a versatile depth option, but he couldn’t be the everyday left fielder.

Right?

Was President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller really going to roll a set of oversized dice on Merrill in center, a premium position with a guy who had played just 46 games in Double-A … without a sniff of Triple-A?

And even though Tatis won a platinum glove during his debut in right, he still was more wired to play shortstop.

It did not seem like an outfield plan as much as a stab in the dark after a few too many spiked eggnogs at the company Christmas party. It came off as survival mode in a season where the Padres were counting pennies as competitive balance tax penalties loomed like storm clouds.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to simply getting by. Profar hit and hit and hit some more. As soon as he settled into his cleats, Merrill began to do the same.

All-Stars in the outfield? More like an outfield full of All-Stars.

“No one was seeing that necessarily at the beginning,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.

Um, no. They weren’t.

It’s hard to know whether to start cutting a bonus check for Preller’s fine footwork or write it off as being cornered by options and economics, shrugging shoulders at how it all worked out.

No one was saying, “Man, the Padres have the best outfield in baseball.” It was more like, “The Padres have an outfield. Maybe. For now.”

Instead of white hot, the consensus had been to brace for a white-knuckler.

FanGraphs’s overarching metric of a player’s total worth, wins above replacement (WAR), has the Padres’ trio ranked Nos. 6-8 in baseball.

The Yankees claim the top two with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, but no team has an entire group ranked anywhere close.

Not only did the Padres put together an outfield, they assembled three guys who became so dependable, so bankable as a unit — Tatis injury pending — that it buoys hope this team might have enough to reach the playoffs.

Those question marks became exclamation points.

“It’s pretty cool,” Merrill said of the entire outfield making the game. “I think definitely ‘Tati’ and ‘Pro’ really deserved it. I’m really appreciative that they took me under their wings. It kind of made me more comfortable and able to play the way I have.”

Pick the more improbable storyline.

Is it Profar, an All-Star for the first time in his 11th season? His .408 on-base percentage leads the entire National League. His .906 OPS is the best of his career.

Profar’s average OPS+, part of the analytics soup that compares players to an average big leaguer, with 100 being the baseline, has been a 97. This season? A head-shaking 155.

The career batting average of .245 has ballooned to .315.

He was, as bizarre as it now seems, sitting unsigned in February. At $1 million plus bonuses, he became baseball’s equivalent of a winning Powerball ticket.

Or is it Merrill, the guy who climbed on a rocketship and zoomed past Triple-A, barely 21, who made the toughest leap in the game without as much as a hiccup?

Merrill began Sunday at No. 3 in baseball for home runs since June 12 (9), fifth in slugging and tied for in extra-base hits. Just-hitting-stride type of stuff.

The confidence, the swagger, the production while holding down the toughest and trickiest outfield spot astounds daily. A season ago, he was in the Futures Game … as a shortstop. The future came fast.

When Tatis returns to the lineup, the group could become a high-performance engine, not an afterthought.

“‘Pro’ was out there for a lot of clubs to sign and signed late …,” Shildt said. “(Merrill had) a little bit of time in Double-A, Triple-A’s a rumor, comes here and immediately changes positions in spring training and goes and makes an All-Star team.

“That’s pretty special.”

It’s the first time in franchise history that the Padres placed three outfielders in the All-Star Game. Merrill became the first Padres rookie to make the cut and will be the youngest player in the game at Arlington, Texas.

The last time players this young made teams, it was 2013 with Bryce Harper, Jose Fernandez and current teammate Manny Machado.

When Merrill’s selection was announced at Petco, he offered an understated wave from the dugout rail.

“The buy-in,” said second baseman Jake Cronenworth, a two-time All-Star himself. “Sometimes guys get moved to position where they might not be comfortable, but he’s gone out and made a point to get better every night and put himself in position to succeed.

“In spring training, from Day 1 when he got there, it seemed like he wasn’t upset about it. He wanted to go out there and the best center fielder his possibly could.

“It’s just his maturity, the way he works every day. Your age doesn’t matter. When you show up and put the time in, you get rewarded for that.”

Merrill finally relented, admitting a bit of satisfaction.

But only a bit.

“Everybody kind of went crazy,” Merrill said of the news, which was shared during a team meeting. “And I was like, sitting there, smiling. It was really surreal. Just kind of take it in for a sec, but I’m just grateful for everyone around me.”

When Merrill looks to his left and his right, can you blame him?

Mattel is always doing something unexpected at San Diego Comic-Con. The company has some of the most beloved licenses around, from Barbie to Hot Wheels to Star Wars, Monster High, and beyond. To get your hands on this year’s items, they will once again be part of the Online Exclusives Portal lottery system, meaning you will need to submit for a chance to enter the booth when it opens on Tuesday, July 9.

While most of the day’s timeslots will be available through the portal, last year at a certain point, Mattel would open the booth to anyone with quantities that remain for that day — and we suspect it will operate the same way this year. For those lucky enough to win, make sure that you bring your QR code to the booth along with photo ID a few minutes before your designated timeslot.

Exclusives will be available for purchase at Booth #3029 at the con beginning Preview Night, as well as available on MattelCreations.com beginning Thursday, July 25 at 9am PT.

[UPDATE July 7]

You’ll also find several booth activities at Booth #3029, including:

FRIDAY, JULY 26

• 10AM — Mattel Creations Presents: Mattel TV. Unlock access with Mattel Creations. Go behind-the-scenes with Rob David, VP of Mattel TV Content Creative for insider info (and maybe a few secrets) about your favorite Mattel TV series including Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Monster High and Hot Wheels: Let’s Race. Join us for a sneak peek of What’s Next!
• 11:30am — Barbie: Sneak Peak. Host Trisha Hershberger and Barbie designers will share details of product.
• 12:15pm — From the Isle to the Aisle: An In-Depth Look at Jurassic World Toy & Packaging Design. Grab your flip-flops and tune in for a closer look at toy creation with members of the Mattel and Universal Jurassic World Design and Packaging Teams. Get ready for a dynamic and dinosaur-filled conversation led by designers Raf Bencosme, Katherine Benecke, Chloe Mun, Carlos Rosales, and Erick Solorzano and enjoy exciting product reveals, branding sneaks, and more!
• 3pm — Street Sharks 30th Anniversary POSTER Signing. Mattel Designers will be on-hand to sign a jawsome reproduction of the re-release packaging character art spread.

SATURDAY, JULY 27

• 11AM — Mattel Creations Opens the Vault. Unlock nostalgia with Mattel Creations. Join us as we dig deep into the archives and reintroduce you to some of your favorite toys from Barbie, Hot Wheels, Monster High, Masters of the Universe, Street Sharks and WWE! Relive your childhood and see which item from the archives won the fan vote.
•  

[UPDATE June 24 #3]

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with Mattel’s die-cast Hot Wheels Starships Select Royal Naboo Starship. The diorama packaging is the perfect backdrop fot eh 7.46″x5.43″x5.43″ starship, in the first-ever appearance of this ship in the Starships Select series. Pick it up for $30 beginning Preview Night at the booth or online beginning Thursday, July 25.

[UPDATE June 24 #2]

Did you really think there wouldn’t be a Jurassic World exclusive? Of course you didn’t, and the toy giant has come roaring in with two new exclusives. Superhero Hype has the details.

Up first, raise your glass for Mattel’s Jurassic World Jimmy Buffet exclusive, which features a figure of Buffet’s iconic cameo from the film. Mattel pays tribute to the legend with this exclusive, which features a giant margarita glass (which Buffet can stand in), two margarita accessories, and attacking dinosaurs on flight stands. But to us, the best part of this set is that the box is shaped like a margarita pitcher. *chef’s kiss*. You can pick it up for $30 beginning Preview Night, or online starting Thursday, July 25.

They’ll also have a Masters of the Universe Two-Bad combo set, featuring individual figures of Tuvar and Baddrah. They come with the ancient Mirror of Avathar, from an episode of the Filmation series, as well as a double-sided mini comic. It will be available for $50.

[UPDATE June 24]

She’s Barbie, and he’s just a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. Per People, Mattel will be releasing a Mini Mojo Dojo Casa House at San Diego Comic-Con. Based on the movie, the set will feature Ken’s iteration of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, as well as a Ken figure in a matching denim set, and a Kendom sign in the background. You can pick it up for $50. Sublime!

Like the other exclusives, it will be available at the con starting Preview Night, and then on MattelCreations beginning Thursday, July 25.

[UPDATE June 20]

Mattel’s second wave of San Diego Comic-Con exclusives are worth the fight to get your hands on them. As revealed by IGN this morning, they’ve got four new exciting exclusives heading to the con, starting with a new WWE Ultimate Edition Shawn Michaels figure, based on his WrestleMania XII’s Iron Man Match. The figure comes equipped with a zip line accessory, as well as interchangeable head, hands, and arm pieces, so that you can recreate Michaels’ iconic entrance. It will be available for $45, and here is the pre-order link launching on July 25 (note that the link won’t work until 9am PT on Thursday, June 20).

Then, they’re making waves with a Street Sharks 30th Anniversary Collection Presents: Ripster, based on the character’s appearance in the episode “A Shark Among Us”. Ripster features a soft goods leather jacket and other episode-specific accessories and comes packaged inside a ’90s action movie-inspired box. You can pick him up for $40 beginning July 25 (or on Preview Night at the booth).

Monster High fans will want to get their claws on two new exclusives, starting with a Monster High Deadfast Ghoulia Yelps doll, which serves as a follow-up to Mattel’s San Diego Comic-Con 2011 exclusive. Ghoulia is decked out in her superhero best, and you can pick her up for $75 online or at the show.

And finally, for now, Mattel will be unleashing a MEGA – Adult Builder – Monster High Frankie Stein Boo-k Lab, which features 362-piece Mega Adult Builder set, inspired by the SDCC 2010 doll. It will be available for $40 both online and at the show.

[UPDATE June 17]

The hero we deserve. After teasing the set all the way back in March, Game Rant today revealed Mattel’s first full look at one of Mattel’s San Diego Comic-Con exclusives — a Fisher Price Little People Batman 85th Anniversary: I Am Batman Set. To celebrate the character’s 85th anniversary, Mattel is celebrating with this set, which features every film version of the character, from Michael Keaton’s 1989 portrayal to Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson’s iterations. Each is dressed in their version of the costume, and comes with an iconic Batarang gadget.

Fans will be able to grab this set for $40.

Up next is a Hot Wheels Batmobile Collector Set, which features the most iconic versions of the Batmobile in one set, including the Batmobiles from the Batman 1966 TV series, the Batman 1989 movie, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Forever, Batman Begins, and The Batman.

Each iteration comes with a small figurine of its driver, representing Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson’s versions of the character. It will be available for $50.

There is also a Hot Wheels RacerVerse Marvel Secret Wars set for $20, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Marvel’s Secret Wars comics. The original 1984 comics debuted the Symbiote Spider-Man suit for the first time, and Mattel is celebrating this with a Die-Cast Symbiote Suit Spider-Man in a little Spider-Buggy, along with a commemorative coin. There will also be a Wolverine chase variant, which features the Secret Wars version of the character in a mini X-Jet.

And finally, for now, they’ll also have a UNO Show ’em No Mercy Deadpool card set, on display only at San Diego Comic-Con. The game is a version of the game that is “even more brutal than its original counterpart”. It features new action cards and more brazen rules, and each card bears artwork from Deadpool comics over the years. It will be available for $19.99, and available exclusively as a Target.com exclusive.

The Padres’ offense didn’t do much of anything for five innings in the middle of Saturday night’s game at Petco Park.

Then they commenced trying to do something they have done quite a bit this season.

They made the game close in the seventh inning and tied it in the eighth before losing 7-5 in extra innings for the first time this season.

The Diamondbacks scored three runs off Wandy Peralta in the 10th. That denied the Padres their 19th victory this season in a game in which they trailed or were tied in the seventh inning or later. Their 18 victories earned that late are the same number they had all last season.

“We’ve done really good,” Jake Cronenworth said after the Padres’ fourth loss in their past 16 games. “We’re not going to let a game where we lose by two runs and had bases loaded in the 10th get us down.”

Padres starter Matt Waldron threw 39 pitches in the second inning and then finished four more innings. He had allowed two runs to that point before being charged with another run in the seventh, when Yuki Matsui allowed an inherited runner and a runner of his own to score.

That gave the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead, and that’s when the Padres started to convert on opportunities.

The Padres could not make much of all the strikes Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt threw them and then did nothing against local product Kevin Ginkel before scoring twice off left-hander Joe Mantiply in the bottom of the seventh to get to 4-3.

Ha-Seong Kim began the comeback with a single. He went to second on Kyle Higashioka’s dribbled infield single and to third on a line drive fielder’s choice by Luis Arraez that resulted in Higashioka being out at second.

With runners at the corners, Jurickson Profar lined a double to the left field corner that scored Kim and moved Arraez to third. Jake Cronenworth’s bunt scored Arraez before Manny Machado, who had decided Saturday’s game with a walk-off home run, struck out against new reliever Bryce Jarvis.

Kim tied the game in the eighth with a two-out double off Ryan Thompson, driving in Donovan Solano, who had led off with a double against Jarvis.

Neither team scored in the ninth – not the Diamondbacks against Adrián Morejón nor the Padres against Thompson.

But the Diamondbacks clobbering of Peralta commenced with his ill-advised attempt to make a play on a bunt by Geraldo Perdomo on which third baseman Manny Machado was the only one who had a chance to get the out.

Perdomo’s bunt was perfectly placed, and he might have beat a throw from Machado, but even before he bobbled the ball, Peralta was at a disadvantage since he was running away from first base.

“It was a big play,” a perturbed Mike Shildt said. “We know Perdomo’s gonna bunt. (He) put down a good bunt. Couldn’t make a play. So it opened it up for a bigger inning.”

Peralta then issued a walk to load the bases, and Christian Walker sent a grounder through a drawn-in infield to drive in two runs. Stephen Kolek replaced Peralta and allowed one of the runners he inherited to score while getting three outs.

The Padres came back from one down to win on Machado’s walk-off homer Friday after the bullpen allowed six runs in the top of the ninth.

But after scoring a run on another Solano double and having the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 10th on Saturday, Bryce Johnson struck out against Thyago Vieira and Kim struck out and Kyle Higashioka flied out to left field against Humberto Castellanos.

Machado, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday on Saturday, gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

His broken-bat flare into left field, on an 0-2 count, was the Padres’ third single of the inning and sent  Arraez racing home from second base.

The Padres had scored 10 runs (eight earned) in Pfaadt’s two previous starts against them this season, and it seemed they might be on their way to another big night.

But they could not capitalize on David Peralta’s lead-off single in the second inning nor Jackson Merrill’s one-out single in the fourth.

Through four innings, Pfaadt had thrown strikes on 41 of his 49 pitches (84 percent) and the Diamondbacks led 2-1.

Kim led off the bottom of the fifth with a double off the wall in left-center field before Kyle Higashioka struck out.

Arraez then lined a ball at 98 mph that nailed Pfaadt in the left ankle. The ball bounced well past the third base line — far enough that Kim rounded third full speed before slamming on the brakes and getting back to third when third baseman Eugenio Suárez sprinted over and grabbed the ball.

Pfaadt was replaced by Ginkel. The El Capitan High School and Southwestern College grad struck out Profar and Cronenworth to end the fifth and Machado and Solano to start the fifth before getting Merrill on a lineout.

The Diamondbacks had tied the game during Waldron’s marathon second inning, which just sort of leaked away from him as he threw more pitches than any Padres pitcher had in any inning this season.

The inning began with an infield single by Christian Walker before Gurriel popped out and Brandon McCarthy struck out.

Waldron then walked Suárez, moving Walker to second, before Poway’s Kevin Newman hit a flare off the end of his bat to bring in Walker.A full-count walk to No.9 batter Jose Herrera loaded the bases before Waldron struck out Corbin Carroll with a full-count sweeper at the bottom of the zone and on the inside edge.

Waldron was at 53 pitches. He got through the next two innings on a total of 25 pitches but also allowed a go-ahead homer to Gurriel leading off the fourth.

Waldron was at 89 pitches after six innings but went back out to start the seventh and promptly yielded a single to Suárez. Shildt said he liked the matchup of Waldron against Suárez and was also trying to shorten the game for his beleagured bullpen.

When Suárez got the hit, Shildt went to Matsui.

Matsui surrendered a one-out double by Herrera that brought in a run charged to Waldron and a two-out triple by Geraldo Perdomo that drove in a second run to make it 4-1.