Padres' Ethan Salas Skyrockets Up Top Prospects List Amid Breakout Year

The San Diego Padres gutted their farm system at last summer's trade deadline.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller revamped the roster, acquiring Mason Miller, Ramón Laureano, Ryan O'Hearn, Freddy Fermin and more via trades, but also had to give up several prospects, including the team's No. 1 overall prospect, Leo De Vries.

That left top catching prospect Ethan Salas as the next future star of the franchise. The only problem, however, was Salas' back injury which sidelined him for a majority of the 2025 season.

The lack of exposure for almost a full season dropped Salas in the prospect rankings. The 19-year-old played in just 10 games last season — all at Double-A — where he hit .188 with an OPS of .544.

Despite the small sample size, baseball scouts and analysts believed Salas still needed more time developing his bat. Heading into spring training, the young catcher was no longer featured in MLB's Top 100 prospect rankings.

However, things have quickly changed for Salas, who is in the midst of a breakout performance in 2026. The catcher is batting .202 with six home runs and 20 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .916 at Double-A this season.

His performance has propelled him 42 spots in MLB.com's prospect rankings. Salas is sitting just outside the top 50 prospects at No. 52.

"Salas’ roller coaster through prospect standing is on the way back up, now that he’s healthy after last year’s back injury that limited him to only 10 games at Double-A San Antonio," Sam Dykstra of MLB.com writes.

"Back in the Texas League, the 20-year-old catcher has utilized a toe tap to stay on time at the plate and get more into his power, and his defense continues to project as plus-plus behind the dish. He could land even higher in our next update should his health and productivity continue,"

The toe tap is seemingly a huge factor in Salas' recent success as Padres assistant director of player development Mike Daly recently discussed the tweak for the young catcher.

“With that toe tap, he’s been on time more, which is certainly how he's still controlling the strike zone,” Daly said. “I think for that reason, coupled with all the work that he did last year, he's hitting the ball more consistently, and he's hitting the ball harder.”

The Padres hosted Salas this spring in big league camp and he made a few appearances in Cactus League. The catcher went 2-for-9 in his limited at-bats as a non-roster invite for the Padres.

The limited usage in spring indicated he was still a ways away from reaching the majors, but his performance thus far is certainly encouraging for the future of the franchise.

Salas most notably skyrocketed to Double-A at just 17 years old in 2023, but has remained there since his early arrival as he develops his bat. In 2024, he hit .206 with an OPS of .599 in High-A.

Flash forward to 2026 and Salas is finding ways to bounce back after missing most of 2025 with a back injury. Suddenly, he's looking like the top prospect he once was just a few years ago.

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