San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run on Thursday, his fourth of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) campaign. Salas now has 21 RBI which is tied for third-most in the AFL, but is hitting just .228 and has a 13:27 BB:K over 23 games. Still, the 18-year-old is one of the youngest players in the AFL, competing against older, more seasoned pitchers. The youngster ranks as the Padres' top prospect and 19th in all of baseball but isn't expected to make his debut for a couple of years yet. Nevertheless, he's a strong defender already and has all the tools to make it to the big leagues with the potential to be a star, so fantasy managers should take notice.
Ethan Salas Swipes Two Bags In 2024 Fall Stars Game
San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas went 1-for-1 with a walk and two stolen bases in the 2024 Fall Stars Game. The backstop was able to swipe second and third base after drawing a lead-off walk in the third inning. At only 18 years old, Salas has been holding his own in the Arizona Fall League as he carried a solid .256/.366/.449 slash line with three home runs, six doubles, 19 RBI, and four stole bases. Last season, the top prospect in San Diego spent the entire campaign with High-A Fort Wayne and faced some growing pains as he posted an overall .206/.288/.311 line with just four home runs in 111 games. Despite his underwhelming performances last summer, Salas remains one of the top catching prospects in the sport and could spend most of the 2025 campaign with Double-A if he continues to progress during the offseason.
San Diego Padres catcher prospect Ethan Salas went 2-for-4 with three RBI Wednesday for High-A Fort Wayne. The 18-year-old produced his fifth multi-hit, multi-RBI performance for Fort Wayne this season. The Padres top prospect has 22 hits and 15 RBI in August. The No. 2 catcher prospect in all of baseball, Salas has come on lately at High-A. This season, he is hitting .210/.296/.318 with four homers and 46 RBI. At just 18 years old, the numbers aren't eye-popping, but Salas is still adjusting to each new level of pro ball. The upside is sky-high for the youngster. It might be a bit before he is behind the plate for the Padres but his development will be worth following.
San Diego Padres catcher prospect Ethan Salas went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles for High-A Fort Wayne on Wednesday. Salas has now hit in 14 straight games and is fourth in the Midwest League with 23 doubles. Salas, 18, has been one of the most hyped prospects on the farm, but has hit just .204 on the season with four homers and 42 RBI. Although he is one of the youngest players at his level, his bat has slowed down in 2024, but scouts believe it could be due to elevating the ball more than he has in the past. Regardless, Salas should continue to grow into his body and another year at High-A could do him well. At such a young age, his potential remains very high and managers in dynasty leagues shouldn't worry at the moment.
San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas stayed hot at the plate by going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI on Friday evening. This was his second long ball in his past four games. During this stretch, the top prospect in San Diego has tallied at least one hit in every game and held a .313/.353/.813 slash line with five RBI and a 1:3 BB:K ratio. Prior to this stretch, the young backstop went 2-for-25 across his previous seven games. The number six ranked prospect on MLB.com has struggled to find consistency at High-A this summer with a mere .196 AVG through 87 games. However, Salas remains one of the top catching prospects in the sport, and this slump presents an intriguing buy-low opportunity in dynasty formats.
San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas has not tallied one hit in his past seven games at High-A Fort Wayne. Before this slump, the 18-year-old backstop was beginning to find some rhythm with a six-game hitting streak. In that stretch, Salas tallied two hits in four out of the six games. Overall, Salas has had a difficult time adjusting to High-A pitching through 64 games this season with a disappointing .191/.299/.267 line. He has hit just one home run, tallied 24 RBI, and stolen six bags. This is a stark contrast when looking at his production at Single-A last summer, where he held a .267/.350/.487 line with nine long balls, 35 RBI, and five stolen bases through 48 games. The number six ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline has looked quite overmatched in his first look at High-A ball this season but remains one of the best catching prospects in baseball.
Ethan Salas Tallies Two Extra-Base Hits On Tuesday
San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas went 2-for-4 in the batter's box with a double and his first triple of the season on Tuesday. He also tallied his eighth RBI of the season off a sacrifice fly. Salas has had a rough start to the 2024 season at High-A with a .205/.301/.284 slash line. The top prospect in the San Diego system performed very well in Single-A last season with a .267/.350/.487 line but struggled when he was promoted to High-A, and even in a brief stint in Double-A. The 17-year-old looks to have carried those struggles into the early part of the season, but his performance on Tuesday could be an excellent way for him to get back on track. Salas is considered one of the best prospects in baseball, and these struggles should not be exaggerated, as he is just 17 years old and is still several years away from his major-league debut.
San Diego Padres catcher prospect Ethan Salas went 1-for-4 with a stolen base for High-A Fort Wayne on Sunday. The stolen base was his second on the young season and Salas also threw out an attempted base stealer on defense. The 17-year-old phenom saw limited action in the Cactus League, but was eventually reassigned. Despite being in High-A, Salas remains one of the top prospects in all of baseball and should be universally rostered in dynasty leagues. Those in redraft leagues can avoid Salas this season, but file his name away as he could come quicker than expected in the next couple of seasons.
Ethan Salas, Jairo Iriarte Sent To Minor-League Camp
The San Diego Padres assigned top prospects Ethan Salas, Jairo Iriarte and Robby Snelling to minor-league camp on Sunday. The most notable cut might have been Iriarte, who seemed to be in contention for a spot on the Opening Day pitching staff. Although Salas is considered one of the top catching prospects in the game already, he's only 17 years old, so it's no surprise that he won't break camp with the team. In his Cactus League action, he went 2-for-7. Salas will begin the 2024 season at Double-A San Antonio and probably won't be a realistic catching option for the Friars for another couple years. Iriarte, meanwhile, will begin at Triple-A El Paso despite giving up just one unearned run over three innings in big-league camp. Expect the 22-year-old to receive a promotion to the majors at some point this year.
San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas was one of 32 player to receive an invitation to major-league spring training on Friday. The 17-year-old is already the top catching prospect in the game after reaching Double-A San Antonio in 2023. He hit .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs, 41 RBI, five stolen bases and 40 runs scored in 290 plate appearances over 66 games at three minor-league levels in 2023 and will now get a chance to impress at his first big-league spring training. Salas isn't going to be rushed to the majors and probably won't debut for the Friars in the Show for another couple years, but he already should be firmly on the radar of fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper leagues. He hits from the left side and is also a great defensive catcher for his age. Salas was the first 16-year-old to play in a full-season league as a professional since Adrian Beltre, who was just elected to the Hall of Fame this week.
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