Jackson Merrill's current slump just slammed door shut on Paul Skenes 2024 RoY debate

Pittsburgh Pirates fans will fondly remember 2024 as the year that Paul Skenes was named the National League's Rookie of the Year. San Diego Padres fans, however, will remember it a little differently.

Skenes won the award handily after an historic debut campaign that saw him finish 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. He led all NL pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched in ERA, strikeout rate (33.1% of batters and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings), WHIP (0.95) and strikeout rate minus walk rate (26.8%), all while holding opposing hitters to a .198 batting average.

Skenes' 170 strikeouts were also a Pirates rookie record, and his ERA was the lowest of any rookie pitcher who made at least 20 starts in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). He edged out Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, earning 23 of a possible 30 first-place votes. The other seven went to Merrill – and, suffice it to say, Padres fans didn't take it well.

To be clear, Merrill had a strong case to win the award. Over 156 games, he led all qualified Major League rookies in fWAR (5.3), hits (162), extra-base hits (61), RBI (90), batting average (.292) and slugging percentage (.500). His 24 home runs were tied for the most among qualified rookies, and he was worth 12 Outs Above Average in center field.

Merrill's late-inning heroics were also impressive, as he became the youngest player in the expansion era and the first rookie to clobber five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later. In any other year, he would have run away with the Rookie of the Year award; but, as we now know, Skenes wasn't just any other rookie.

Jackson Merrill's current slump has Pirates fans laughing about 2024 NL RoY debate

Padres fans were so bitter about Skenes winning the award over Merrill that they erected a highway sign – yes, an actual road sign – on the freeway leading to the exit for Petco Park in San Diego that reads, "Home to MerrillMania and Jackson Merrill, the real 2024 NL Rookie of the Year." Unfortunately for the Padres, however, that sign hasn't exactly aged well.

After a strong start to the 2025 campaign in which he hit .467 with a .767 slugging percentage through the first 15 games of the year, Merrill has since found himself mired in a lengthy slump. He is now batting just .199 with a .277 slugging percentage across 43 games, and he hasn't hit a home run since May 27.

Skenes, meanwhile, has been selected to his second consecutive All-Star Game and somehow managed to improve upon his stellar rookie season numbers with a 1.94 ERA and 0.92 WHIP through 116 innings across 19 starts in 2025.

In other words, sophomore slump? Skenes has never heard of it. Despite Padres fans' best trolling efforts, it appears that Pirates fans will get the last laugh on this one.

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