"Jackson Merrill above Corbin Carroll is diabolical" - Fans react to Padres stars ft. Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr.'s top 30 spot in MLB rankings

Fans reacted as the San Diego Padres have three inclusions in the top 30 MLB players heading into the 2025 season. Fernando Tatis Jr. was ranked No. 22, sophomore Jackson Merrill came in at No. 24, while third baseman Manny Machado was ranked No. 29.

Interestingly, none of the Padres players qualified for the top 20 list as fans shared their opinions on the Instagram post by MLB.

"There are NOT 21 players better than Tatis," one fan wrote.

"Keep the Faith baby!! 🙏🤎💛," another added.

"Not even top 20 players 😂👏🏼," one fan commented.

"Incoming padres haters," another posted.

Reactions continued to pour in with question marks on Merrill's No. 24 ranking following his rookie season.

"Jackson Merrill being above Corbin Carroll is diabolical," one fan added.

"Now show the players the Dodgers took from them no one is scared of the Padres😂☠️," another reacted.

"Surely these guys scored at least a run in 24 innings, right?," one fan trolled the Padres sluggers following their debacles in Games 4 and 5 of the NLDS series.

Fan Reactions

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Manny Machado addresses ownership dispute affecting the Padres

The Padres have attracted the spotlight for everything not baseball. Following the death of owner Peter Seidler in November 2023, things aren't looking great within the ownership group.

Earlier this offseason, Seidler's wife Sheel filed a lawsuit against her brothers-in-law John and Matt Seidler for not letting her control the Padres. She alleged that Peter wanted her to step in as the one calling the shots following his death. Meanwhile, John was voted and approved as the new controlling owner by other MLB teams a couple of weeks ago.

Amid the distraction that has resulted in the Padres being mostly inactive this offseason, Manny Machado reflected his disappointment but said that they have only one goal in mind.

“Are we disappointed we haven’t made any moves? Yeah,” Machado told reporters. “As a team, we do kind of look up there, and you’re a little disappointed that we let some of the guys that were (part of the) core group here go elsewhere.

"But we can’t control that, right? We control it with the group of guys that we have here, and we’re going to get ready for a long season. … Our goal is to win a championship and win the World Series. Come spring training time with the guys that we have in that clubhouse, we’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna battle.”

While Machado has expressed his desire to remain competitive, the tension in the ownership group could reflect on the team's performances in 2025.