Salas is slashing .260/.302/.364 with eight doubles, zero home runs and a 16:5 K:BB over his last 20 games for High-A Fort Wayne.
Salas has a .206 average, .599 OPS and 75 wRC+ in 111 games for the Tin Caps, so this recent stretch qualifies as him heating up. The 18-year-old catcher makes for a tough evaluation, as he has elite pedigree and is extremely young for his level, yet he has produced at well below league-average levels ever since he was promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore in August of 2023.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Beginning season in High-A ball
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Salas has gone 3-for-9 with two RBI and a stolen base through two games while opening the minor-league season with High-A Fort Wayne.
Salas emerged as arguably the top catching prospect in baseball last season after reaching Double-A as a 17-year-old. He played in just nine games at that level, though, and struggled with a 5-for-28 showing at the plate, so it's not surprising that the Padres elected to have him open 2024 back at the High-A level. That said, it shouldn't take long for Salas to be promoted if he performs well, and he's already incredibly advanced both offensively and defensively given his age.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Re-assigned to minor-league camp
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Salas was re-assigned to minor-league camp by the Padres on Sunday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Just being invited to big-league camp as a 17-year-old was an accomplishment in and of itself for Salas, who went 2-for-7 at the plate during his limited Cactus League opportunities. He's slated to begin the season at Double-A San Antonio after finishing there in 2023. The top prospect slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs over 66 games across three levels last season.
The Padres announced Friday that Salas received an invitation to major-league spring training.
Salas reached Double-A San Antonio last season as a 17-year-old and will now take part in his first major-league camp at the same age. One of the top prospects in baseball, Salas slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs over 66 games across three levels in 2023 while showing superb defense at catcher. Salas probably won't reach the big leagues for another year or two, but there will be plenty of eyes on the wunderkind this spring.
Double-A San Antonio placed Salas (knee) on its 7-day injured list Wednesday.
Salas' move to the IL was a foregone conclusion after he suffered what is believed to be a season-ending right knee sprain earlier this month. The 17-year-old is expected to have a normal offseason and should be fully healed ahead of spring training, when he'll likely enter the 2024 campaign as one of the more highly regarded catching prospects in baseball. Salas closes the 2023 season with a .248/.331/.421 slash line to go with nine home runs and five stolen bases across 66 games between San Antonio, High-A Fort Wayne and Single-A Lake Elsinore.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Sprained knee ends season
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Salas is expected to miss the remainder of the season at Double-A San Antonio after being diagnosed with a right knee sprain, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas suffered the injury during Saturday's game and is expected to be sidelined for about four weeks, so he's simply going to run out of time even if San Antonio makes a playoff run. It's an unfortunate ending to what has been a remarkable season for the top prospect, as Salas managed to reach the Double-A level as a 17-year-old. Fortunately, he should have a normal offseason.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Exits Saturday with knee issue
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Salas departed Double-A San Antonio's win over Wichita after three innings Saturday due to right knee irritation, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas started behind the plate and went 0-for-1 before his departure. According to Sanders, Padres player development indicated that the initial evaluation of Salas was "very positive" and has labeled the 17-year-old as day-to-day. Salas has struggled since being promoted to Double-A on Aug. 20, slashing .179/.303/.214 with no homers over 33 plate appearances, though he continues to display good patience with a 12.5 percent walk rate.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Heading to Double-A
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Salas was promoted from High-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio on Sunday, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.
Salas is among the top prospects in baseball, and he's progressed quickly through the Padres' farm system this year. After being promoted from Single-A to High-A in early August, he'll join the Double-A ranks a few weeks later. Over 57 minor-league games this year, he's slashed .257/.335/.447 with nine homers, 38 runs, 38 RBI and five stolen bases.
The Padres promoted Salas from Single-A Lake Elsinore to High-A Fort Wayne on Wednesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Though Salas has slumped to start August, going 1-for-20 with a 45 percent strikeout rate over five games, he's coming off an incredible July during which he won the California League's Player of the Month award and slashed .366/.416/.720 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, 19 runs and two stolen bases over 19 contests. Of course, all of the catcher's accomplishments on the field are made more remarkable by the fact that he's only 17 years old. With his ascension to High-A, Salas becomes the youngest player in the history of the Fort Wayne franchise. He's batting second and catching in his Fort Wayne debut Wednesday.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Powering up in Single-A ball
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Over his past eight games with Single-A Lake Elsinore, Salas has slashed .400/.500/1.067 with five home runs, three doubles, one triple, 13 RBI and a 5:7 BB:K.
Salas got off to a slow start after being sent to full-season ball for his professional debut, and through June 28 he was batting .207 with just one homer. However, the promising prospect has taken off since then, justifying the organization's decision to have him skip ahead to Single-A rather than debut in the Arizona Complex League. Given Salas' development at such a young age (he turned 17 on June 1), the sky appears to be the limit for him, and dynasty managers who roster the backstop have every reason to be ecstatic about his potential as a future MLB star.
Salas was added to Single-A Lake Elsinore's roster Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
There had been some speculation that Salas, who turns 17 this week, would open in the Arizona Complex League, but the Padres decided to expedite matters and send the catching phenom to full-season ball for his pro debut. Salas is obviously incredibly advanced on both sides of the ball, and if he has notable success as the youngest hitter at Single-A, his stock will continue to rise.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Should open in AZ Complex League
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Salas will likely begin his professional career in the Arizona Complex League, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
Assistant director of player development Mike Daly said Salas will begin his career stateside, which rules out a stint in the Dominican Summer League, but he didn't definitively rule out Salas spending time with Single-A Lake Elsinore this year in his age-16/17 season. Salas turns 17 in June and has already appeared in a Cactus League game, which is evidence of just how advanced the prized international signee is. A bilingual switch hitter, Salas is as good of a real-life 16-year-old prospect as you'll find, but he is still at least several years away from the majors.
