San Diego Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill (20) smiled brightly. We welcomed the departure of Keystone Combi Kim Ha-seong (28) and Zander Bogatz (31), who will compete in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
In an interview published by the San Diego Union-Tribune, a local media outlet in San Diego on the 26th (Korean time), Merrill said, “I’m glad they (Ha-sung Kim and Bogatz) are leaving. I can spend a lot of time on the ground while playing. That will be a really enjoyable thing for me,” he answered honestly.
It was worth it. It is no exaggeration to say that Merrill came to this big league spring camp thanks to the two players. In San Diego, a large number of key infielders, including Kim Ha-seong, Bogatz, and Manny Machado (31), will be absent from the WBC. In the meantime, the exhibition game schedule was still going on, so San Diego invited Merrill, the team’s top prospect, to the big league spring camp to fill the lack of infielders.
Merrill is a right-handed and left-handed shortstop in a San Diego uniform with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 draft. Merrill is evaluated as having some power in his contact ability. He can also play second and third base, but the club plans to develop Merrill as a shortstop in the long term. Last year, he played 45 games for the San Diego minor league single-A team, batting average of 0.325 (64 hits in 197 at-bats), OPS of 0.869, 5 homers, and 34 RBIs.
San Diego manager Bob Melvin praised Merrill after watching him play in spring training. Coach Melvin emphasized, “He is much better than his peers. If you talk to Merrill and watch his play and work ethic, he probably has everything you want.”토토사이트
On the 25th, Merrill appeared as a substitute in an exhibition game against the Seattle Mariners and went 3 hits in 3 at-bats and wielded a strong blow, leaving a mark. Even though he is 190 cm tall and weighs 88 kg, he has a large physique, but he showed excellent contact ability and ability to run fast. On the 26th, against the Chicago White Sox, he got a chance to start as a shortstop with the ninth batter, but went silent with no hits in 3 at-bats. Merrill once again surprised the club officials with her mature attitude not to skimp on each game.
The San Diego Union-Tribune revealed that Merrill, who always acts mature, had her childlike moments. Merrill has been a Boston Red Sox fan since he was a kid, and he was overjoyed at the honor of sharing a clubhouse with Bo Gatz, who signed as a free agent from Boston to San Diego ahead of this season.
“It’s nice just to share the same clubhouse with the big leaguers,” Merrill said. talked
San Diego wants Merrill to grow fast, and Merrill wants it too. The American sports media ‘The Athletic’ reported that if Machado opted out and left, Bogatz would move from shortstop to third base,
Merrill said, “I’m not complaining wherever the club sends me. If I go to the minor leagues, I’ll go and play. I’ll do my best to win anywhere. I really like big league camp right now. I like San Diego and wherever the big leaguers are. I want to become a big leaguer as soon as possible. If I keep playing, I think I’ll probably be called up to the big leagues pretty quickly.”