With tensions rising in Dodger Stadium, it was easy to overlook the marvelous effort that standout rookie Jackson Merrill put together in Sunday’s 10-2 win over the Dodgers. His rapid ascent is notably continuing in the MLB playoffs, in the midst of arguably baseball’s most intense rivalry today. The All-Star outfielder has flaunted his renown nerves of steel often enough for people to realize that he is not merely on a hot streak.
Merrill is built for the moment. Just ask Xander Bogaerts, another player who knows how it feels to produce at a high level in the playoffs at only 21 years of age.
“Man, that guy is different,” the veteran shortstop said after a chaotic Game 2 of the NL Division Series, per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin. “It ain’t luck. It ain’t pretending. He knows he’s a bad dude, and he feels it, and he believes it, and that’s who he is.”…