San Diego Padres Top Prospect Ethan Salas Training With Batting Champion Luis Arráez

With Spring Training just a few weeks away, San Diego Padres top prospect Ethan Salas hit the batting cages with his potential future teammate, Luis Arráez.

San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas (88) throws to first base during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Ethan Salas may still only be 18 years old, but the up-and-coming catcher is doing everything in his power to stay on a big-league track.

Salas is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the San Diego Padres' farm system, according to MLB Pipeline. He ranks No. 4 among catchers and No. 33 overall.

Luis Arráez, San Diego's incumbent leadoff man, posted a picture with Salas in the batting cages on social media on Sunday. Maybe some of Arráez's bat-to-ball skills can rub off on Salas, considering the 27-year-old infielder has won three batting titles in a row.

While Salas was born in Kissimmee, Florida, he is of Venezuelan descent and grew up in Venezuela. Arráez is Venezuelan himself, leading to a seemingly quick bond between the two.

With my boy Ethan Salas 🇻🇪🚿💛🤎 pic.twitter.com/ejsAhkepoE

— Luis Arraez (@Arraez_21) February 2, 2025

Salas was fast-tracked to Double-A late in 2023, when he was still just 17 years old. He then spent all of 2024 in High-A before heading off to the Arizona Fall League.

For as much hype as surrounded him so far, Salas is a career .222 hitter in the minors with a .657 OPS. He showed a bit more pop in the AFL, posting a .751 OPS, but he still struck out 27 times in 23 games.

Arráez, on the other hand, is a .323 hitter so far in his MLB career. He has won batting titles with the Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins and Padres, all while recording more walks than strikeouts.

Through 686 big league games, Arráez has struck out just 194 times.

Arráez has come up in trade rumors this winter, and he is slated to become a free agent next winter. Still, for as long as he remains in San Diego, it makes sense to have him mentor Salas, who is widely considered to be the franchise's catcher of the future.

The Padres re-signed veteran backstop Elias Díaz last month after Kyle Higashioka left to join the Texas Rangers. Díaz will likely split time with Luis Campusano behind the plate to open the season.

Salas is unlikely to unseat either one of them on the big league roster in 2025, as MLB Pipeline has his major league ETA set at 2027. The Padres have yet to commit significant long-term cash to any other catcher, though, so Salas should have the inside track on the starting job once he's deemed big-league ready.

San Diego has yet to announce its non-roster invites for their major league Spring Training camp, but Salas did make the cut in 2024. If he gets brought down to Arizona again in 2025, perhaps he can get some additional guidance from Arráez, who was still with the Marlins this time last year.

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