Top 3 Cards: Padres Call-Up Top Prospect Ethan Salas
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Ethan Salas is a prospect card collectors have been talking about since his 1st Bowman Chrome dropped in the 2023 Bowman product. And now, with rosters expanding, they'll get a chance to see the Padres' No. 1 overall prospect, with his call-up announced on September 1.
Ethan Salas is now the youngest player in the big leagues 🤯
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 1, 2026
With the @Padres' No. 1 prospect getting promoted, what can fans expect from him in The Show?
In addition to his always-impressive defense, Salas has had a breakout campaign at the plate: https://t.co/CZys8rdP9N pic.twitter.com/NEDqHrhfc3
Salas, MLB Pipeline's current No. 23 overall prospect, made waves when he shot all the way up to Double-A as a 17-year-old catcher. And although the past two seasons have been quiet on the statline, 2026 has seen a resurgent performance from him. He's currently hitting .296 with 10 home runs and 61 runs batted in (RBI) in AA and AAA, earning him the call-up for his MLB debut.
While we look to see what he does on the field, what have his cards done on the market? Here are three of the top card sales of Ethan Salas since he was first included in a product as a professional baseball player.
No. 3 | 2023 Bowman 1st Red Wave Autograph #/5
Ethan Salas' third-highest-selling card to-date is from the 2023 Bowman product. His 2023 Bowman 1st Red Wave refractor autograph, numbered to just five, features a bust shot of Salas holding a bat.
According to Card Ladder, this card was sold via auction on September 19, 2023, and went for a final amount of $9,100.
No. 2 | 2023 Bowman 1st True Red Autograph #/5
No, you're not seeing double. But yes, you are seeing red. The second-highest Ethan Salas card is another Bowman 1st Chrome Auto, but this is his true red, numbered to five as well. The card is identical to the No. 3 card on this list, except it gets the added benefit of being the true red.
Generally, the true colors sell more than other color variants, and this holds true with this card too. The true red of Ethan Salas sold on September 28, 2023, and sold via auction for $13,014, according to Card Ladder.
No. 1 | 2023 Bowman 1st 1-of-1 Superfractor Autograph
The No. 1 card on the list is a one-of-one. Salas's 2023 Bowman 1st superfractor autograph, graded a PSA NM-MT 8 (with an autograph grade of 10) is his top selling card to-date. The card is the same as his other 2023 Bowman Chrome cards. But it features the famous gold circular pattern throughout.
This is the first graded card on this list sold via Goldin Auctions. The card finished with 15 bids and sold for $36,600.
It was obvious the team viewed him as a future piece of the team when General Manager AJ Preller kept him out of any trades this year. The Padres currently have two catchers manning the plate right now, so it wasn't immediately known where he would play in the field. But wherever that is, the Padres now have a left-handed bat off the bench to carry them to October.
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After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz