The Padres will promote Salas from Double-A San Antonio to Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
One of the top catching prospects in baseball, the 20-year-old Salas earned the bump up to the Pacific Coast League after turning in a .777 OPS (111 wRC+) over 296 plate appearances at San Antonio on the season. Salas had been running especially hot since the start of July, slashing .320/.407/.380 on the month. Held in high regard for his pitch framing and throwing arm, Salas has the tools to stick behind the plate for the long haul, and the improved bat-to-ball skills he's shown over the past two seasons offer hope that he can be a fantasy difference-maker once he reaches the majors. Salas has also had more involvement in the run game in 2026, going 14-for-20 on stolen-base attempts at San Antonio.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Putting up good numbers in Double-A
Rotowire
Through 16 games with Double-A San Antonio, Salas is slashing .296/.377/.481 with two home runs, four doubles, seven runs, nine RBI and three stolen bases.
Salas lost some of his prospect shine last season when injuries limited to him to only 10 games (all with San Antonio), during which he batted just .188 with no long balls. However, he's turned things around at the plate to begin the 2026 campaign and is coming off a big week -- from April 18 to 25, he put up a 1.278 OPS with two homers, six RBI and a stolen base over six contests. Salas won't turn 20 until June 1, and he still ranks as one of San Diego's top prospects.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Shows out in Spring Breakout
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Salas went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, four RBI and a stolen base against the Cubs in a Spring Breakout game Saturday.
Salas starred for the Padres in the minor-league showcase, lifting a three-run homer in the fifth inning and adding a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The young catcher has struggled during the Cactus League slate, however, going just 2-for-11 at the plate but producing a 3:1 BB:K. He's still only 19 years old and has plenty of time to develop, though this could be a big year for him in the minors after Salas registered a lowly .544 OPS over 41 plate appearances in Double-A last season.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Fully healthy again
Rotowire
Salas (back) is fully healthy after sitting out the Arizona Fall League, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. The Padres are debating whether to send him to winter ball or to have him focus on preparing for spring training. "He's doing well," GM A.J. Preller said. "He's swinging the bat and looking 100 percent."
Salas managed just 10 games at Double-A San Antonio this season, hitting a paltry .188/.325/.219 in 41 plate appearances. While his prospect star has dimmed, it's far from expired. He turns 20 next June and will still be young for Double-A if he indeed begins there in 2026.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Will not play in AFL
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Salas (back) is no longer slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas missed most of the 2025 season with a stress reaction in his lower back. It does not appear he has suffered a setback, but the Padres have decided to give the young catcher more time to heal rather than pushing him to play in the AFL. It's unclear whether Salas might play winter ball later this offseason instead.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Cleared for baseball activities
Rotowire
Salas (back) was recently cleared to resume baseball activities at the Padres' spring training complex and will be one of the San Diego prospects who is set to participate in the Arizona Fall League, which begins Oct. 6., MLB.com reports.
Salas remains on Double-A San Antonio's 60-day injured list and doesn't appear in line to return to action over the final week of the Texas League season, but the young backstop looks like he could be ready to play at some point during the AFL, which runs through mid-November. Even if Salas hasn't progressed enough in his recovery from a lower back stress reaction to see action by the end of AFL play, he'll likely take part in winter ball to make up for the at-bats he lost out on this season. Salas' last appearance with San Antonio came back on April 17.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Slow to heal from back injury
Rotowire
Salas is healing from a stress fracture in his back slower than the Padres anticipated, and he remains without an official timeline for a return to game action, Kyle Glaser of the Foul Territory Network reports.
According to Padres team officials, Salas hasn't experienced any setbacks in his recovery from the injury, which initially forced him to Double-A San Antonio's 7-day injured list April 26. The 19-year-old backstop has been able to stay in shape by catching from a pitching machine and taking part in individual workouts, but he's not yet been cleared for rotational work. According to Glaser, Salas is unlikely to play again this season, but the Padres aren't officially closing the door on him being activated if he's able to make major strides in his recovery over the next few weeks.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Managing back injury in minors
Rotowire
Double-A San Antonio placed Salas on its 7-day injured list Saturday due to back spasms, MLB.com reports.
The Padres have deemed Salas' absence from game action as precautionary, and the 18-year-old has been swinging and throwing at the team's spring complex, so the back issue doesn't appear to be serious. Salas began the season with San Antonio and slashed .188/.325/.219 with five RBI, five runs, two stolen bases and a 6:5 BB:K over 41 plate appearances before being shelved.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Reassigned to minors camp
Rotowire
The Padres reassigned Salas to minor-league camp Thursday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas, 18, was a spring training invitee but always destined to return to the minors to begin the 2025 season. He's a gifted defensive catcher, but the top prospect slashed only .206/.288/.311 at High-A Fort Wayne in 2024, so he'll be looking to take a step forward offensively this season.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Collecting hits at High-A
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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.
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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Padres' Ethan Salas: Re-assigned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Salas was re-assigned to minor-league camp by the Padres on Sunday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Just being invited to big-league camp as a 17-year-old was an accomplishment in and of itself for Salas, who went 2-for-7 at the plate during his limited Cactus League opportunities. He's slated to begin the season at Double-A San Antonio after finishing there in 2023. The top prospect slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs over 66 games across three levels last season.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Exits Saturday with knee issue
Rotowire
Salas departed Double-A San Antonio's win over Wichita after three innings Saturday due to right knee irritation, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas started behind the plate and went 0-for-1 before his departure. According to Sanders, Padres player development indicated that the initial evaluation of Salas was "very positive" and has labeled the 17-year-old as day-to-day. Salas has struggled since being promoted to Double-A on Aug. 20, slashing .179/.303/.214 with no homers over 33 plate appearances, though he continues to display good patience with a 12.5 percent walk rate.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Powering up in Single-A ball
Rotowire
Over his past eight games with Single-A Lake Elsinore, Salas has slashed .400/.500/1.067 with five home runs, three doubles, one triple, 13 RBI and a 5:7 BB:K.
Salas got off to a slow start after being sent to full-season ball for his professional debut, and through June 28 he was batting .207 with just one homer. However, the promising prospect has taken off since then, justifying the organization's decision to have him skip ahead to Single-A rather than debut in the Arizona Complex League. Given Salas' development at such a young age (he turned 17 on June 1), the sky appears to be the limit for him, and dynasty managers who roster the backstop have every reason to be ecstatic about his potential as a future MLB star.
