Padres' Ethan Salas Returns to Top 100 MLB Prospects List in Major Development

The 2026 season has been a strong one for San Diego Padres top prospect Ethan Salas after a few down years. The young catching product has seen a rise in his game this year, and it has been great to see him start to put things together on the field.

Salas is currently playing in Double-A, and he has put together a very nice season thus far for the organization. The catcher has hit .322 with five home runs, 17 runs batted in and an OPS of .965, playing in 26 games.

His performance this year has helped him vault back into the top 100 prospects list around baseball, showing some positive progression. The 19-year-old is currently ranked as the No. 99 prospect in the sport, per MLB Pipeline, and he may keep climbing as he continues to progress.

19-year-old Ethan Salas surges back onto the MLB Top 100 Prospects list as JJ Wetherholt graduates.

The Padres catcher has a .975 OPS this season: https://t.co/sZdXO6LKYK pic.twitter.com/2S8mqFc6Mt
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 4, 2026

It seems that Salas is healthy this year after dealing with back problems last season, which contributed to his poor numbers. Overall, Salas hit .188 with an OPS of .544, only playing in 10 games due to injury.

If Salas can keep showing improvement, he may get the call to head to Triple-A, which would put him even closer to getting to the big leagues. San Diego could certainly use him down the line, as the Padres don't have a clear catcher of the future and have one of the oldest rosters in MLB.

The Padres' average age on the roster is 29.9, according to ESPN, which ranks them as the fourth-highest in the sport. If the Padres could inject themselves with some youth, even if it doesn't happen this season, it could help keep the World Series goals of this franchise alive.

Salas is projected to come to the big leagues in 2027. San Diego doesn't have an answer at the catcher position for the future, and Salas has been looked at as the possible option within the organization.

The Padres have been encouraged by his defensive ability over the years, and he has been great at controlling the running game of opponents. His bat has started to come alive, and he is showing himself to be a well-rounded prospect at this time.

The organization has been impressed with how Salas has performed this season, but they will need him to keep it up. Salas could also be used in a potential trade to improve the roster right now, but the team would likely only move him for a blockbuster deal.

Both the Padres and potentially interested teams will keep a close eye on Salas as the year moves forward. To this point, Salas hasn't proved anything in his career, and staying consistent in his approach to the game will ultimately determine how far he will go.

Salas was surprisingly removed from the top 100 prospects list while still a teenager because of one down season. He's proving that all the experts made a mistake.

“The guys in this clubhouse know who I am," Salas said this spring. "I don’t think any prospect rank or not determines that — determines how I am as a teammate, as a human, as a baseball player. So I’m just going to go out and keep playing my game every single day, happy like a kid.”

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