The San Diego Padres finished last season missing the playoffs with an 82-80 record. They enter the new season with some steep competition as the Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks have all made moves to improve their rosters this coming season. With Michael Wacha and Blake Snell gone or pending free agent (Snell) the pitching rotation took a hit coming into the new year. The team still has star power in Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Fernando Tatis Jr, and Xander Bogaerts the team has more questions than answers this year. One decision I think this team needs to make is going young in left field this year.
Jackson Merrill
Merrill has been playing in the outfield this spring and should be the opening-day starter as he enters his 21-year-old season. I would like to see Merrill in left, Jose Azocar in center, and Fernando Tatis Jr in right field. I would hit Merrill near the bottom of the order and allow him to get game experience immediately with the big club. I think the team can’t let Jurickson Profar eat up playing time. So far this Spring Merrill has played in seven games, had 19 plate appearances, scored three runs, had five hits, one double, two RBIs, three walks, one stolen base, and is hitting .263 so far. Profar has seen four at-bats during two games played and is one for four in the spring. Merrill is a left-handed bat and has been hitting the ball hard and on a line during training camp. With the team in a tough division and in an uphill climb to try and compete for a wild card spot, I see no reason not to let the kid play. I think it would be best for the young core Azocar and Kim already been given the job at Short, let’s see these kids gel and find out what we have. Let Profar walk honestly and keep Oscar Mercado as an extra outfielder who can play all three spots.
Summary
What does this team have to lose honestly? The way I see it right now is without a pitcher not named Yu Darvish winning 15 games this team will be in a similar boat as they were last year finishing around .500 and missing out on the postseason. Which is why I suggest giving Merrill the job in left, let’s see if perhaps the bats can keep this team competitive enough for our pitching staff to figure out how to win some of these 6-5, 7-6 stye games and maybe just maybe we do enough in the first half to make moves to get us over the hump and into the playoffs in the second half. If not we find out what Jackson is capable of during a year of experience against big-league pitching. Keep in mind if he struggles you can send him to Triple AAA for more time to develop.
