Ethan Salas

18-Year-Old CatcherC
San Diego Padres A+
2025 Fantasy Outlook
The production simply hasn't approached the hype with Salas, whose age and pedigree are the main selling points for continuing to value him in dynasty leagues. He was the biggest international name to sign as a teenager on Jan. 15, 2023, although Felnin Celesten and Sebastian Walcott had more relevant fantasy tools from that class. Salas also won't turn 19 until June and already has 129 games under his belt above Single-A, plus another 23 games in the Arizona Fall League in 2024. He has a career .589 OPS at High-A and a .517 OPS in nine games at Double-A, while his .228/.327/.424 slash line with four home runs in the AFL was easily his best run since he impressed at Single-A in 2023. Salas could be trending towards a Matt Wieters type of prime, where he hits 20-plus home runs without killing your batting average and potentially helping your on-base percentage, but that's probably the best realistic outcome at this point, and it's not production you should expect in 2025 or 2026. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
From Preseason
$Signed a $5.6 million contract with the Padres in January of 2023.
Collecting hits at High-A
CSan Diego Padres  A+
September 10, 2024
Salas is slashing .260/.302/.364 with eight doubles, zero home runs and a 16:5 K:BB over his last 20 games for High-A Fort Wayne.
ANALYSIS
Salas has a .206 average, .599 OPS and 75 wRC+ in 111 games for the Tin Caps, so this recent stretch qualifies as him heating up. The 18-year-old catcher makes for a tough evaluation, as he has elite pedigree and is extremely young for his level, yet he has produced at well below league-average levels ever since he was promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore in August of 2023.
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
Salas, a lefty-hitting bilingual catcher from Venezuela, was the top prospect in the 2023 international signing class ($5.8 million bonus) and became the first 16-year-old to play in a full-season league since Adrian Beltre in 1996. He slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs, five steals, a 25.9 K% and a 10.3 BB% in 290 plate appearances across Single-A, High-A and Double-A, with 220 of those PAs coming at Single-A. Salas, who turns 18 in June, should spend the bulk of the year in the upper levels of the minors, which is exceedingly rare for a prospect his age, especially a plus defensive catcher. Given that he was four years younger than the average Single-A hitter last year, it's tough to look at his statistics and confidently project his output over the next couple seasons. What is clear, is that Salas is a special talent with elite makeup and a chance to be the best catching prospect since Adley Rutschman.
A 16-year-old catcher from Venezuela, Salas is the younger brother of Marlins prospect Jose Salas and his family has a long history of churning out pro baseball players, dating back to his grandfather. He commanded the largest signing bonus ($5.6 million) of any player in the class. Salas is considered the top pure hitter in this year's international signing class, and has experience hitting 90-plus mph velocity, which is a separator compared to his peers. He is a better real-life prospect than a fantasy prospect, and he could be seen as one of the best catching prospects in the game in a couple years.
More Fantasy News
Beginning season in High-A ball
CSan Diego Padres  A+
April 7, 2024
Salas has gone 3-for-9 with two RBI and a stolen base through two games while opening the minor-league season with High-A Fort Wayne.
ANALYSIS
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Sent to minor-league camp
CSan Diego Padres  A+
March 4, 2024
The Padres reassigned Salas to minor-league camp on Sunday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Invited to big-league camp
CSan Diego Padres  A+
January 26, 2024
The Padres announced Friday that Salas received an invitation to major-league spring training.
ANALYSIS
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Moves to IL
CSan Diego Padres  A+
Knee
September 12, 2023
Double-A San Antonio placed Salas (knee) on its 7-day injured list Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Sprained knee ends season
CSan Diego Padres  A+
Knee
September 5, 2023
Salas is expected to miss the remainder of the season at Double-A San Antonio after being diagnosed with a right knee sprain, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Deemed untouchable
CSan Diego Padres  A+
July 22, 2024
The Padres are looking to buy at the trade deadline but are telling teams that Salas is an untouchable prospect, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
The 18-year-old is one of the top catching prospects in baseball after he joined the Padres as an international signee in January of 2023. Salas is playing at High-A Fort Wayne this season and has struggled offensively with a .195/.294/.271 slash line through 71 games against much older competition. Despite those results, the Padres clearly still view him as one of their best prospects.
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