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00:00Now, we move over to the other side in the NL, that is Jackson Merrill, after a sensational
00:05rookie campaign with San Diego. What do you expect Merrill to do here in 2025?
00:12I expect Merrill to be in the top five of the league when it comes to total hits,
00:15when it's all said and done. You get this number 19-1. Again,
00:18we talked about this extensively on Pro Baseball today. The lineup for the Padres is awesome. If
00:23they weren't playing in the NL West, they could be a favorite to win basically any other division.
00:28Obviously, the Dodgers throws a wrench in things, but he's awesome. He doesn't strike out a whole
00:33lot. He puts the ball in play. The lineup behind him or around him is awesome, so he will always
00:37see good pitches. Again, when we look at the projections for him, if you look on Fangraph,
00:41some of the projections will have him at 5th, 6th, 7th. Again, if you apply a little bit of
00:46variance to that, that could push him into the top three or four. If we're at the top three or
00:50four, a 19-1 number doesn't indicate that he's going to be a top three hitter in the league.
00:55We get this number preseason, and he's going to be there at the end when it's all said and done.
00:59We talked about this last year with Bobby Witt. We came through our 19-1. Two years ago,
01:04we came through with Matt Olsen at 28-1 to lead the league in homers. Jackson Merrill is a player
01:08that I believe in. He will have a great strikeout rate, super low. He will put the ball in play.
01:12He's not going to be a massive power hitter, but the lineup around him will always put him
01:15in a good spot to pick up hits.