Ethan Salas Caps Hectic Season By Being Named Padres' Prospect Of The Year

What a long, strange trip Ethan Salas' baseball career has been - and he still won't be able to legally buy a drink until June 1 next year.

The San Diego Padres' catcher entered professional baseball as one of the most highly touted international prospects ever after agreeing to a contract with a $5.6-million signing bonus with the Padres in 2023.

He appeared to be on a historically fast track to the majors with aggressive assignments to Single-A Lake Elsinore and nine-game stints at High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio when he was a 17-year-old in 2023. He more than showed he was ready for those levels with a combined .248 average, .752 OPS and 24 extra-base hits in 66 games.

Salas' 2024 season was spent entirely at Fort Wayne, but the results weren't as promising: .206 average, .599 OPS and only four home runs in 111 games. If that was at least slightly discouraging, 2025 was a washout as injuries limited Salas to 10 games at San Antonio in which he hit .188.

Then, in 2026, the Salas the Padres were banking on reappeared. In 96 games split between San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso he hit .296 with a .374 on-base percentage and slugging percentage of .448 (.822 OPS) with 19 doubles, 10 homers, 61 RBIs, a 47-58 walk-strikeout ratio and 17 stolen bases.

Salas' major-league dream was realized on Sept. 2 when he got the call from the parent club. He immediately became an integral part of a team that blazed through the season's final month and swept the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series before falling in four games to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Divisional Series.

Salas even made a little history along way as in Game Two of the WCS, he became the youngest catcher in MLB history to start a postseason game.

So, it should come as no surprise that on Oct. 7, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline named Salas the Padres' hitting "Prospect of the Year."

Joining him on the Padres' minor-league honor roll for 2026 was right-hander Jesus A. Castro, who earned pitching Prospect of the Year recognition from the MLB writers.

The 19-year-old Castro, who is ranked 16th on San Diego's list of Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline, started 20 games and appeared in 22 overall for the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm, who won the California League championship on Sept. 16.

The 19-year-old Castro, who the Padres signed for a mere $10,000 out of Mexico in January 2025, finished the season with a 3-5 record and 4.18 ERA, but with an even 100 strikeouts and only three home runs allowed in 90.1 innings pitched.

While Salas would appear to be a foundational piece in San Diego for the next decade-plus, MLB Pipeline lists Castro's expected arrival date in the East Village as the 2029 season.