2024 may go down in the annals of baseball card history as “The Year of the Jacksons,” with several top young players sharing that first name. But one of those Jacksons doesn’t get quite the hobby love of the other two despite having arguably the best 2024 season.
That Jackson is none other than Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres. But who is Jackson Merrill? What are his early career cards worth chasing? And what are the best Jackson Merrill Rookie Cards?
Shop for Jackson Merrill Rookie Cards on eBay
Jackson Merrill is the center fielder for the San Diego Padres. After being drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (27th overall pick) in the 2021 MLB Amateur draft, Merrill cruised through the minors.
He hit .295/.347/.455 with an OPS of .802 and 21 home runs in 200 games across four minor league levels. He broke camp with the Padres and made his major league debut days before his 21st birthday.
For his rookie season, Merrill put up an impressive season with a line of .292/.326/.500 line, good for an OPS of .826 and 127 OPS+. He added 24 home runs, 31 doubles, 16 stolen bases, ad 90 RBI to compile a season worth 4.4 WAR.
Shop for Jackson Merrill Rookie Cards on eBay
He was selected to the All-Star game and helped lead the Padres to the playoffs, where he hit a home run, a double, and a triple and drove in 5 runs in 7 games.
Merrill is a favorite (along with Paul Skenes) for the National League Rookie of the Year award. Merrill is a promising young player who’s had some impressive early success.
He’s not a perfect player, of course. His rookie-year BB/K ratio of 29/101 suggests lower OBP potential. Perhaps Merrill will improve in this area going forward, as his 65/133 ratio in the minors is a bit better. Regardless, the future looks bright for Merrill, and he has a chance to add hardware to his resume this winter.
Jackson Merrill has appeared on 1,733 different cards in his short career, with his esteemed 1st Bowman cards appearing in 2021, the year he was drafted, and his official rookie cards appearing on 2024.
Jackson Merrill’s 1st Bowman cards appear in 2021 products. Despite a very strong rookie season, both the total PSA pops and prices remain reasonable, in relative terms.
The 2021 Bowman Draft Jackson Merrill #BD-119 paper version has a PSA total population of just over 400 with about ¾ of those in PSA 10 slabs. In that condition, the price is only in the $30-45 range. At only about 2x the price of grading, grabbing one of these feels like a reasonable buy as a low-cost value play.
Upping the game with some Chrome is the 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Jackson Merrill #BDC-119, which has a slightly smaller total PSA population of over 350 copies. Notably, only around 39% of the total are in PSA 10 slabs, a fairly low percentage for an ultra-modern card.
The price range of PSA 10s have been a bit all over the place, with recent comps ranging from $75 to $160. If you can find cards on the lower end of that scale, this feels like a card with some upside based on Merrill’s potential and the lower total and PSA 10 populations.
The higher-end 2021 Bowman Draft Sapphire Edition Jackson Merrill #BDC-119 offers up a lower total PSA population (258) and surprisingly low PSA 10 count (58), along with a higher price point of $160-200. Again, the price point doesn’t seem unreasonable for a player of Merrill’s potential.
What you’re not seeing on this list is an autographed offering. Merrill did not have an autographed Bowman card in 2021, so a licensed Jackson Merrill autograph would have to wait until 2022.
Notably, Merrill appeared on unlicensed Panini autographed cards in 2021. Also, all the cards listed have a rainbow of parallels available, meaning there are plenty of tougher cards to chase if you’re high on Merrill and your budget allows.
| Card | Total PSA Pop | Recent Comp Pop | Recent Comp Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Bowman Draft Jackson Merrill #BD-119 | 408 | PSA 10 = 303 | PSA 10 = $30-45 |
| 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Jackson Merrill #BDC-119 | 352 | PSA 10 = 136 | PSA 10 = $75-160 |
| 2021 Bowman Draft Sapphire Edition Jackson Merrill #BDC-119 | 258 | PSA 10 = 58 | PSA 10 = $160-200 |
As mentioned above, Merrill appeared on several unlicensed cards in 2021 produced by Panini, including base and autographed cards such as 2021 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Jackson Merrill Autograph #PDP27. The PSA pops here are very low, but the unlicensed cards offer a cost-effective alternative to the Bowman offerings.
Jackson Merrill has his first Bowman autograph in 2022, in the 2022 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Jackson Merrill #CPA-JME.
The card has been graded close to 1,000 times with almost 600 of them in PSA 10 slabs. In that condition, a copy of the auto will set you back between $200 and $300, making it a key Merrill card.
2023 saw Merrill have more prospect cards, including the 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft Jackson Merrill #BCD-157. The story here is about low PSA populations (13 total in this case), as well as low demand and prices for base cards. Still, if you’re looking for a low-cost Merrill card, there are plenty of options in 2023.
Jackson Merrill’s official rookie cards appear in 2024 products. One particularly interesting one is the short-printed card that appears in 2024 Topps packs. The 2024 Topps Jackson Merrill #699 is a tough short-print (SP), so maybe not officially a rookie card, but it’s a good one.
The card has been graded just over 250 times, but the percentage of PSA 10s is actually pretty low at around 25%. The card sells for between $150-250 in a PSA 10.
Shop for Jackson Merrill Rookie Cards on eBay
| Card | Total PSA Pop | Recent Comp Pop | Recent Comp Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Jackson Merrill Autograph #PDP27 | 1 | PSA 9 = 1 | NA |
| 2022 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Jackson Merrill #CPA-JME | 985 | PSA 10 = 596 | PSA 10 = $200-300 |
| 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft Jackson Merrill #BCD-157 | 13 | PSA 10 = 9 | PSA 10 = $35 |
| 2024 Topps Jackson Merrill #699 | 252 | PSA 10 = 66 | PSA 10 = $150-250 |
Jackson Merrill is a promising young player coming off a very productive rookie season that has him as one of the finalists for the Rookie of the Year award.
Yet his card prices don’t yet seem so crazy that there’s not some potential upside. There’s always a significant risk with young players, but if you believe in Merrill’s long-term potential, there’s still time to buy in.
What’s your take on Jackson Merrill and his cards? Are you a big fan? Picking up a few of his cards? Or are you avoiding this Jackson? Tell us about it at CardLines on Twitter.
Shop for Jackson Merrill Rookie Cards on eBay
32 Spot Random Team 2024 NFL Mosaic Mega 8 Box Break
32 Spot Random Team 2024 NFL Mosaic Blaster 10 Box Break.
Sealed Blaster Box of 2022 Topps MLB Baseball Update Series.
Sealed box of 2019 Topps MLB Baseball Series 2 Hobby Box. 1 autograph or relic card guaranteed. Great rookie class.
Sealed Box of 2021 Panini Prizm Baseball Cello. 12 packs per box, 18 cards per pack.
© Copyright 2024 - All rights reserved Cardlines.com / Media Techs LLC - Sports Card News, Reviews, Releases and BREAKS - #thehobby.
Important: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.