Nine home runs since the All-Star break. A .333 average in that stretch, after a first half that was genuinely rough — June alone had him hitting below .200. And last night, a two-run shot in the seventh to help beat the Brewers, because of course he did.

That’s just who Jackson Merrill is. That’s the guy we all knew was in there this whole time, even during the stretches this year where it just wasn’t clicking. You don’t forget how to hit. You don’t forget how to be this good. Sometimes it just takes a while to show back up, and right now, it’s showing up every single night.

I am so happy to see Jackson capturing the spotlight like we knew he could.