The San Diego Padres don't have much catching depth in their system, but Ethan Salas is finally starting to hit.
The San Diego Padres have been waiting for some time now for catching prospect Ethan Salas to pull it together and turn promise into performance, and the time appears to be now for Salas, who’s struggled with both injuries and an inability to hit so far in his young career.
But Salas is showing some pop at Double-A with the San Antonio Missions. He’s had four home runs in his last six games, according to Brian Murphy of MLB.com, which matches his total from back in 2024.
As Murphy noted, it’s easy to forget that Salas is still just 19 years old due to the fact that his career has unfolded in fits and starts. Salas has had to deal with a debilitating back injury, and it was preceded by a down year at High-A during which he hit just .206 with an .599 OPS in 111 games.
But Salas is doing much more than just hitting homers this season, as Murphy noted. He has nine extra-base hits in 20 games so far, and his walk rate is up to 10.4 percent. His slash line at Double-A is .319/.390/.565 slash line through 77 plate appearances, which stands in stark contrast to his earlier numbers of .221/.305/.347.
The Padres have insisted that they still see Salas as their catcher of the future, based on the talent level, athleticism and his superb defensive skills. Now he’s adding some power to the mix, and if he’s able to continue to do that he could be in line for a promotion to Triple-A fairly soon.
The Padres have an intriguing situation at catcher this season. Freddy Fermin was expected to be the starter in his first full season in that role, but Fermin hasn’t hit and he’s been out for a couple of short stretches with minor injuries.
Luis Campusano has stepped up and provided some impressive offensive production so far, but they know he’s nowhere near Salas’s equal defensively despite the fact that Campusano has more than held his own.
The Padres don’t have much minor league depth at catcher, which is where Salas enters the picture. If he can continue to step up and produce and mark himself as the catcher of the future, San Diego’s situation at this position would become a lot more stable. It’s too early to predict whether that will happen, but it has to be a relief for the Padres brass to see Salas doing well given his injuries and the large bonus he was given when he signed with San Diego.