Ethan Salas is making the Padres think hard about the next move.
San Diego’s No. 1 prospect has been stacking up the kind of Triple-A production that turns a conversation into a deadline. In El Paso’s 5-4 road win over Oklahoma City, the 20-year-old catcher delivered a three-hit night and drove in a run with an RBI triple that left the bat at 105 mph, according to Jesse Borek of MLB.com. It was the fifth time Salas has hit a ball that hard since his July 29 promotion.
That game was also another notch in what has become a strong run with the Chihuahuas. Salas collected his ninth multihit game at Triple-A, and his numbers keep moving in the right direction: a .325 average in 22 games, a .402 on-base percentage and a .554 slugging percentage. He has done it with a disciplined approach too, drawing 12 walks against just nine strikeouts.
For a player San Diego has been waiting on for a couple of years, this is the missing piece finally showing up. Salas has long been younger than much of the competition he’s faced, and his path has been interrupted by a variety of health problems. Those issues are behind him now, and the case for keeping him down gets harder by the day.
There’s also the development angle. Salas has caught multiple big-leaguers as he’s moved through the system, and he’s been around members of the Padres’ major league staff since spring training. He said that experience has mattered.
“I think it’s huge being able to learn as much as you possibly can from people who have done it and have been through a lot in the game of baseball,” Salas said about his ongoing development. “Being able to be with big-name guys and pick their minds and what works for them, it’s huge.
“[I’m] always trying to learn. Been around the game of baseball since [I] was little, so being able to learn from other people and see if it helps in any way possible, I think that’s a great advantage.”
Now the decision belongs to the Padres. They need a left-handed bat, and Salas’ recent stretch makes him look like a clean fit if they’re willing to lean into the upside and forget the uneven parts of the last couple of seasons. With San Diego beginning its road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays, the timing feels especially pointed.
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Padres Suddenly Face A Bigger Concern With Luis Rengifo
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Rengifo had become a useful piece for the Padres in 38 games, giving the club flexibility and production in a spot where depth always matters. Now the bigger concern is less about the box score from one game and more about how long San Diego might have to go without him, with the team waiting on a much clearer picture of what the lower-leg injury means. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Have A Samad Taylor Decision They Cant Dodge
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He is back on a rehab assignment now, and the early results have only complicated the decision the Padres are going to have to make. Taylor has been productive in seven Triple-A games, slashing .304/.407/.478, and that performance is likely to keep pressure on the club to find him a meaningful role once he is fully ready. The issue is not whether he has earned attention. It is how San Diego fits him in when he returns. [Read more 🡒]
Ethan Salas Is Making A Padres Decision Much Harder Than Expected
Ethan Salas has made a quick impression since his late-July move to Triple-A, turning what looked like a developmental step into a legitimate late-season question for the Padres. The top prospect has hit .325 with three home runs and 25 RBIs over 22 games, giving the organization a compelling reason to keep watching him closely as the major league roster tries to sort itself out for the stretch run.
Manager Craig Stammen has already acknowledged Salas is capable of handling the majors, but ability is only part of the decision now. San Diego has to weigh his readiness against the ripple effects of a promotion, and the club is also factoring in how a potential lockout could affect roster moves and player contact, which only adds another layer to a call that has gotten a lot more complicated than it seemed a month ago. [Read more 🡒]