Padres Calling Up Top Prospect Ethan Salas in Massive Roster Move

The San Diego Padres are calling up top prospect Ethan Salas, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Salas, who's just 20 years old, will complete his meteoric rise to Major League Baseball on Tuesday after beginning the 2026 season in Double-A.

He will be one of the Padres' September call-ups, as rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1.

Salas is currently ranked as the No. 23 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He's the Padres' No. 1 overall prospect.

Ethan Salas' Role For Padres in 2026

According to Acee, Salas is expected to work in a platoon at the designated hitter position, giving the team a left-handed bat off the bench. It's unclear if he will catch for the Padres, as the team has two strong catchers in Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin.

With Salas on the roster, though, the Padres can use Campusano as the DH and as a pinch-hitter more often since they'll have three catchers.

It's clear the Padres are calling Salas up for his bat, though.

How is Ethan Salas Doing This Year?

Salas began the year unranked on many top 100 prospects list after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign.

He quickly made the prospect experts regret that decision.

Across 72 games at Double-A, Salas slashed .286/.361/.417 with seven home runs, 37 RBIs and an OPS of .778.

That led the team to promote him to Triple-A, where he's been even better.

In 24 games at Triple-A El Paso, Salas slashed .326/.410/.539 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and an OPS of .949. He had 14 walks to just 10 strikeouts and proved he was more than capable of dominating at the highest minor league level.

Can Ethan Salas Play for the Padres in the Postseason?

Since Salas will be on the active roster by Sept. 1, he will be eligible to be on the postseason roster. That's one of the reasons the Padres had been considering calling him up, as they feel his bat could potentially help them come October.

Earlier this month, manager Craig Stammen praised Salas while leaving the door open to a potential 2026 call-up.

“He’s definitely capable of being a major-league player at any point, and that will be a decision for the organization as we go forward,” Stammen said at the time. “Hypothetically, he’s a left-handed bat, so you could play him against right-handed pitching. And we feel comfortable with him behind the plate defensively against anybody. He proved that in the last couple spring trainings.”

What's the Downside to the Padres Calling Up Ethan Salas?

While there's little risk in seeing how Salas competes at the big league level, there are some potential downsides to the promotion.

Firstly, the promotion begins his clock for big league service time, slightly expediting his process to free agency.

Secondly, since Salas will of course need to be added to the 40-man roster, he would be unable to communicate with Padres coaches during the expected lockout that will begin on Dec. 1.

Moreover, if the major league season is cancelled (or games are missed), Salas will be ineligible to play in Triple-A.

Clearly, those factors weren't an issue for the Padres, who are in the thick of the wild-card race and just lost a key switch-hitter in Luis Rengifo to a torn ACL.

The Padres needed a left-handed spark in the lineup, and Salas, at 20 years old, will look to provide just that.

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