The Padres are calling up top catching prospect Ethan Salas, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Salas, who turned 20 in June, will be the youngest player in the Major Leagues. Assuming he makes a defensive appearance, he will also be the youngest MLB catcher since Iván Rodríguez debuted at age 19 in 1991. It’s the culmination of a fantastic rebounding season. Salas was a top international prospect who signed for a $5.6 million bonus as the top player in the 2023 class. Although born in Florida, Salas spent part of his childhood in Venezuela and left Latin America as a fan. He had played one game in the Venezuelan Winter League before signing with the Padres, a rare feat for a then-16-year-old player. That hinted at how polished the left-handed Salas was on both sides of the ball. San Diego tends to be aggressive with its top prospects and pushed him to Double-A a couple of months after his 17th birthday. That proved too ambitious, and Salas spent the entire 2024 season (his age-18 campaign) back in High-A. Salas struggled that year, hitting .206 with four home runs in 111 games. He missed most of the 2025 season with a back injury. That dimmed his prospects slightly, although, ironically, it might have been the best outcome for the Padres in the long run. The back injury all but ensured that Salas wouldn’t be moved at the deadline of ’25. San Diego ended up trading shortstop prospect Leo De Vries to acquire Mason Miller last summer and sent Salas back to Double-A to open 2026. Healthy again, Salas has re-established himself as one of the game’s best young talents. He hit .286/.361/.417 in 72 games to earn a promotion to Triple-A El Paso in late July. Salas has had no problem at the top minor league level, hitting .326/.410/.539 with more walks than strikeouts in 24 games. Baseball America, FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic rank Salas as the game’s top catching prospect and a top-15 minor league talent. MLB Pipeline ranks Salas 23rd overall and fourth among backstops. He is unanimously viewed as the star talent in an otherwise unimpressive Padres system. Evaluators are effusive about Salas’ defensive acumen. There’s a little more question about the offensive ceiling, particularly from a power perspective, but this year he’s shown an advanced approach with excellent contact ability. San Diego is making a considerable show of faith by calling up Salas in a tight Wild Card race. They did a decent job of the duo Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermín in the second half, although both players have declined in the last two weeks. It’s unclear how much immediate playing time they’ll give Salas, but the Padres could have called up Blake Hunt or Rodolfo Durán if they wanted a pure depth catcher to fill out the bench. Salas adds a left-handed bat to an offense that lost Gavin Sheets and switch-hitting Luis Rengifo over the weekend. That would provide some balance on a right-handed bench, even if Salas breaks in as the third catcher. He will have a few weeks to make a case for a potential playoff roster if San Diego qualifies and/or an Opening Day berth in 2027. The Friars will need to pick up his contract, but they can easily accommodate it by transferring Rengifo to the 60-day disabled list as he is scheduled for ACL surgery. They will also be able to bring in a 14th pitcher for September. Despite the late-season call-up, Salas will remain rookie eligible in 2027 and could earn the Padres a future draft pick through the Prospect Promotion Incentive if he breaks camp and meets the award criteria (i.e. Rookie of the Year or finishing in the top three MVPs within his first three seasons). He will be under club control for at least six full seasons and will not qualify for arbitration until the 2029-30 offseason at the earliest. The biggest roster consideration is that the Padres are drafting Salas to the 40-man roster a year earlier than would have been necessary to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That means he will be subject to a potential lockout and would be ineligible to play in the minor leagues if the lockout extends into next season. Image courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images.
