Ethan

Salas

Salas, 19, has been out since May with a stress reaction in his lower back. The high-level prospect was hoping to return during the AFL, but the Padres will give him some more time to heal. Salas still has big-time upside, and while he’s struggled over the last two years, there’s plenty of time for him to develop into a strong catching option. Stay patient.

Salas was originally expected back this month, but he hasn’t healed as quickly as hoped. Considered one of the game’s very best prospects after an excellent showing as a 17-year-old in 2023, Salas struggled offensively last year and played in just 10 games this season before getting hurt. Still, as disappointing as the lost season is, he has time on his side; he just turned 19 on June 1.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller told reporters on Monday that the back issue won’t impact his long-term development. The 18-year-old is one of the top catching prospects in baseball, but he doesn’t project to make much of a fantasy impact once he reaches the big leagues.

The highly-touted 18-year-old backstop looked like he fit right in on the big league field on Sunday as he laced an RBI double (103.5 mph EV) off of Giovanny Gallegos to open the scoring in the second inning. He then raced around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Forrest Wall. Salas is extremely unlikely to break through to the big leagues in 2025, but the future behind the plate looks unbelievably bright in San Diego.

Salas is already up to four doubles in the AFL. The 18-year-old struggled in the regular season, but he’s been able to register an .895 thus far in the prospect-heavy league. Salas isn’t likely to be an option for San Diego until 2026, but there’s as much upside in his profile as any catching prospect in the sport.

Salas hit his two-run blast in the seventh inning, and it went an estimated 402 feet with a 100.4 mph exit velocity. The 18-year-old is coming off a disappointing offensive season, but he’s still widely considered one of — if not the — best catching prospect in baseball. The fact he’s playing against this level of competition as an 18-year-old makes it pretty clear how much the Padres believe in Salas in the long-term.

There are some lingering questions marks for Crews in the hard contact department, but the second-overall selection from the loaded 2023 MLB Draft has been excellent this season in the upper minors, batting .267/.331/.433 with eight homers and 20 thefts in 71 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. He figures to arrive in the big leagues at some point following the All-Star break. We could spend hours discussing the rest of this fascinating assortment of prospects that includes some of the fastest-rising names in fantasy circles. Here’s the rest of the senior circuit’s lineup: Justin Crawford LF, Crews RF, Termarr Johnson 2B, Bryce Eldridge 1B, Ethan Salas C, Druw Jones CF, Cam Collier 3B, Aidan Miller SS and Drake Baldwin DH.

There are no major surprises among the first large batch of cuts for the Padres, as anticipated. With these moves they are now down to 50 players remaining in big league camp. Salas, the 17-year-old phenom, went 2-for-7 with a double and an RBI in his limited Cactus League action this spring. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see him in the big leagues during the 2024 season, but his time will be coming soon.

The Padres’ No. 1 prospect doesn’t turn 18 until June, but he’s already making a name for himself in the Cactus League. Salas went 2-for-2 with a double against the Guardians on Monday. He made serious contact with his first hit that went in the gap in left field and he turned it into a double when he slid in head first. Last season, he slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine homers and 41 RBI in the minor leagues and is showing why he will be a household name in the years to come.

The 17-year-old backstop spent stopped at High-A Fort Wayne for just nine games before making this unprecedented leap. On the season, he’s slashing .257/.335/.447 with nine homers, 38 RBI, five stolen bases and a 67/26 K/BB ratio over 257 plate appearances. He’ll once again be far-and-away the youngest player at his entire level.