The San Diego Padres have been waiting for catcher Ethan Salas to show his tools in game action, and he finally did.
The San Diego Padres have taken a lot of heat for not developing catching prospect Ethan Salas, and for good reason. Salas was a marquee signing, and this is a club desperate for young talent, but the catcher has spent most of his young career either injured or struggling to gain his footing offensively.
Yesterday, though, Salas showed why the Padres made hi a top pick as he did it all in the Spring Breakout game against the Chicago Cubs, according to a report by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Salas hit a three-run homer, added a single and a stolen base, and threw out a pair of Cubs base stealers to go with an excellent catch in foul territory.
The Padres lost the game, 7-5, but getting Salas back into productive action was one of their top priorities. He didn’t play for most of last season after sustaining a back injury in April, and Salas has never really hit in a way that aligns with his status as a top prospect.
But Salas has been ignoring the noise, based on his post-game comments.
“Not at all,” he said when asked how all the negativity affects him. “The guys in this clubhouse know who I am. I don’t think any prospect rank or not determines that -- determines how I am as a teammate, as a human, as a baseball player. So I’m just going to go out and keep playing my game every single day, happy like a kid.”
Last year was mostly about getting mental reps and learning as he watched, but the calls have gotten louder to do it on the field, which is where Salas wants to be.
“It’s way better doing this,” Salas said. “Definitely happy to be back on the field. And yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited for the season.”
The Padres have no firm plans for Salas beyond keeping him on the field, which is understandable given his struggles to date.
“Just be healthy the whole season,” Salas said about his goals. “Then it’s just: Play ball like a kid and have fun, win a lot of games. That’s pretty much all I’m thinking about.”
The game also featured the long-awaited debut of Padres pitching prospect Kruz Schoolcraft, who threw a shutout inning but struggled with his control as he walked a pair of hitters. Cassavell also cited pitcher Lan-Hong Su, right fielder Kale Fountain and center fielder Ryan Wideman as players who stood out in the contest.