“We’re expecting to bang soon” - Jackson Merrill stays optimistic about Padres lineup, opens up on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s performance 

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has had a promising start to his major league career in 2024 with the San Diego Padres. The Padres (36-35), although not quite dominating, have been doing alright so far this season, sitting second behind the LA Dodgers in the NL West standings.

After being swept by the Los Angeles Angels in their three-game series, the team’s offense did show some spark against the Arizona Diamondbacks with 10-3 and 13-1 wins in the four-game series. They achieved their most recent win, 4-3 against the Oakland Athletics, on Tuesday. The club can sweep the A's with a win tomorrow.

The Padres lineup has been decent – but not spectacular – so far in the season. However, Jackson Merrill is quite optimistic about his team and expressed his views on the matter in a recent interview:

“We’re gonna have good at bats and we’re gonna do pretty well. It’d be great to get back as fast as possible… So we’re expecting to bang soon, we’ve been banging but we can bang even more,” Merrill said about the team’s improving offensive performance.

“Now, the last few days especially against the Diamondbacks like were out there earlier ready to go, we’re ready to mess somebody up from the first pitch. So that’s really helpful for us,” Merrill said.

“Talk about the other teams like Marlins and A’s, they go to home fields, it’s like 5,000 people there. It’s not many, so they come here with our full-packed out fans and they want to beat our a**. But i think we just continue to play our game and just be strong and come to beat everybody else’s ass we’ll be all right,” he added.

Merrill made his major league debut against the Dodgers in the Seoul Series after being added to the Opening Day roster on March 19. So far this season, Merrill has a batting average of .278 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and nine stolen bases.

Jackson Merrill relieved to see Fernando Tatis Jr. bouncing back

After a rough 2023 season due to injuries and suspension, Fernando Tatis Jr. has had a bounce-back year in 2024. In the Padres' earlier win against the Oakland Athletics, Tatis hit a home run, extending his hitting streak to 16 games.

Talking about Tatis, Merrill said:

“He’s been screwed over a lot and a lot of us have, lineouts and hidden balls, hard not really getting luck. So it’s good to see that. He’s finally the ball’s getting down for him and getting down over the fence too. That’s pretty sick.”

In the 2024 season, Fernando Tatis Jr. has hit 13 home runs and 35 RBIs with a .283 batting average.