Padres To Promote Ethan Salas

The Padres are calling up top catching prospect Ethan Salas, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Salas, who turned 20 in June, will be the youngest player in the big leagues — assuming no one takes that title from him tomorrow. It’s the culmination of a fantastic rebound season for the extremely talented young catcher. Salas was a marquee international signee who signed for a $5.6MM bonus as the top player in the 2023 class. Although he was born in Florida, Salas spent part of his childhood in Venezuela and signed out of Latin America as an amateur. He had played one game in the Venezuelan Winter League before signing with the Padres, a rare feat for a player who was then 16 years old. That hinted at how advanced the lefty-hitting Salas was on both sides of the ball. San Diego tends to be aggressive with their top prospects and had pushed him to Double-A within a couple months of his 17th birthday. That proved too ambitious, and Salas spent the entire 2024 season (his age-18 campaign) back in High-A. Salas struggled that year, hitting .206 with four home runs in 111 games. He lost most of the 2025 season to a back injury. That slightly dimmed his prospect stock, though it ironically might’ve been the best outcome for the Padres in the long run. The back injury all but ensured that Salas wouldn’t be moved at the ’25 deadline. San Diego wound up giving up top shortstop prospect Leo De Vries to acquire Mason Miller last summer and sent Salas back to Double-A to open 2026. Healthy again, Salas has reestablished himself as one of the best young catching talents in the sport. He hit .286/.361/.417 across 72 contests to earn a bump to Triple-A El Paso at the end of July. Salas hasn’t had any problem with the top minor league level, batting .326/.410/.539 with more walks than strikeouts across 24 games. More to come.