The San Diego Padres are prepared to name top prospect Jackson Merrill their Opening Day center fielder, according to a report.
Merrill, who turns 21 next month, was the club\'s first-round pick in 2021 and is a consensus top-20 prospect.
He\'s not yet played a game above Double-A in his professional career, having slashed a solid but unspectacular .277/.326/.444 in 114 games split between the High-A and Double-A levels last year.