SAN DIEGO -- The Padres handed the keys to a then-20-year-old rookie in center field in 2024. Jackson Merrill lived up to every conceivable expectation.

Now, Merrill is a favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, alongside Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes. But where does his rookie season rank among the best in Padres history? Here's a look at the top 10:

10. Joey Hamilton, 1994
The Padres have never had an overwhelmingly dominant rookie season from a starting pitcher. Thus, their top pitching seasons are difficult to sort because they fall into four categories:

• Utterly dominant short-stint relievers (like Akinori Otsuka and Cla Meredith)
• Less dominant relievers who pitched more (Luis DeLeón, Lance McCullers, Greg Harris, Butch Metzger)
• Very good starters who didn't get a full workload (Hamilton, Chris Paddack, Randy Jones)
• Decent starters who got a full workload and racked up counting stats (Dave Freisleben, Steve Arlin)

In this purely subjective ranking, let's lean toward excellent starting pitching. Joey Hamilton's rookie season was cut short by the strike. But he posted a 2.98 ERA over 16 starts during a peak offensive era. His 139 ERA+ is the best for a rookie starter in franchise history. That's good enough to make him the top pitcher on this list.

9. Gene Richards, 1977
An underappreciated player with an underrated rookie season, Gene Richards batted .290/.363/.390 and swiped 56 bases, then a rookie record.

8. Ozzie Smith, 1978
Ozzie Smith didn’t break through as a hitter until he was in St. Louis. But he was always The Wizard with his glove. In fact, the signature defensive play of Smith's career came in his 10th game as a big leaguer. He ranged to his left and robbed Jeff Burroughs' one-hop smash bare-handed. Thanks mostly to that elite defense, Smith finished second in the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.

• Best debut season in each team's history

7. Johnny Grubb, 1973
A few more plate appearances, and Johnny Grubb would have posted the best offensive season for a qualifying rookie in franchise history. His numbers are still gaudy. In 113 games, Grubb batted .311/.373/.445 -- probably the best slash line for any Padres rookie with at least 100 games.

6. Carmelo Martinez, 1984
Before Merrill, Carmelo Martinez had edged out Grubb for the best rookie season by a Padres outfielder -- largely because of his workload. His '84 campaign ranks third in fWAR among all Padres rookies. Martinez batted .250/.340/.395 and anchored left field as the Friars pushed for their first NL pennant.

5. Khalil Greene, 2004
If the vote were held today, it's hard to envision Khalil Greene not winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2004. He batted .273/.349/.446 while playing excellent defense at a premium position. Greene finished well ahead of ROY winner Jason Bay in both bWAR and fWAR. But with early-2000s voting trends, he finished second.

4. Fernando Tatis Jr., 2019
Had he not suffered a season-ending back injury in mid-August, Fernando Tatis Jr. might sit atop this list. Instead, he has to settle for the best rookie batting average (.317) and OPS (.969) by any Padres rookie with at least 200 plate appearances. Oh, and a career's worth of highlight-reel plays before he turned 21.

3. Roberto Alomar, 1988
It's easy to draw comparisons between Roberto Alomar and Tatis -- the two youngest infielders in franchise history. Both were sons of Major Leaguers, and both of their arrivals came with plenty of fanfare. Each lived up to the hype. After a mid-April callup, Alomar batted .266/.328/.382 in 1988 while playing a spectacular second base. His 4.4 bWAR and 3.9 fWAR were the highest marks for any Padres rookie -- until Merrill.

2. Benito Santiago, 1987
Hard to imagine anyone ever having a season like this one again. Benito Santiago caught 146 games as a 22-year-old rookie, and he still batted .300 with 18 home runs. (Since World War II, the only other qualifying rookie catchers to hit .300 are Mike Piazza and Thurman Munson.)

Santiago's 1987 campaign will always be defined by his 34-game hitting streak -- the best all-time for a rookie, for a catcher and for a Padre. He took home the first of his four NL Silver Slugger Awards that season, though he had to wait a year to win the first of his three NL Gold Gloves.

Still, it doesn't get much better than an elite defensive catcher hitting .300 with power. Santiago took home NL Rookie of the Year honors, and his '87 campaign was the gold standard by which all Padres rookies were judged. Until...

1. Jackson Merrill, 2024
Merrill's rookie season checks in as the best in franchise history. He tops the Padres rookie leaderboards in both bWAR and fWAR, and he led all MLB rookies in 2024 in hits (162), extra-base hits (61), RBIs (90), batting average (.292), slugging percentage (.500), OPS (.826) and was tied for first with 24 home runs.

But Merrill's rookie impact extended well beyond the numbers. He delivered one of the most clutch seasons in franchise history, hitting five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later -- the youngest player in MLB history to do so. He also played an excellent center field, despite having never before played the position at any level.

In the process, Merrill helped carry a Padres team that was coming off a disappointing 2023 back into the postseason in '24. Wherever he finishes in the Rookie of the Year vote, Merrill's rookie season is the best in Padres history.