Ethan Salas is headed to the Padres organization…
The San Diego Padres have signed the 16-year-old Venezuelan catcher to a $5.6 million bonus, the first day of the international signing period.
Salas is the consensus top overall prospect in this year’s class.
The left-handed hitter is the younger brother of Jose Salas, one of the top prospects in the Miami Marlins system.
The Salas brothers have a long family history in baseball. Their father, Jose Antonio, played in the Atlanta Braves organization; their uncle, Jose Gregorio, played in the Toronto Blue Jays system; and their grandfather, Jose Gregorio, played in the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals organizations.
According to scouting reports, Ethan Salas has raw power at the plate and strong defensive skills.
Originally from Venezuela, Salas currently resides with his family in the Dominican Republic, though he’s spent time in Florida training over the last few years. He brings a highly projectable 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame to the table, one that should almost certainly fill out and add muscle with physical maturity.
A switch-hitter, Salas wields a smooth, silky stroke from both sides, though his left-handed swing is particularly enticing. There’s some natural loft and ease to drive the baseball to the pull-side at the moment, and that should continue to consistently tick up as he gets stronger. Even with that said, it’s likely going to be a hit-over-power type of profile down the road. The ease and fluidity that Salas works with are the separators, however, and it’s just something you don’t typically see from players his age.
Salas checks plenty of boxes defensively, which is also not something you see in young catching prospects, especially coming from the international ranks. His ability to work underneath the baseball, maintain rhythm as he gathers the pitch, and do so all with soft clean hands is impressive. It’s hard to project anyone to stick behind the plate at this age, but his actions and arm strength have him headed in the right direction.