Ethan Salas Proves To Be A Rare Developmental Victory For Padres

[Steve Drumwright]

As a result of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller's wheeling and dealing of prospects as if they were cotton candy at a birthday party, the San Diego Padres' minor-league system is the worst in MLB. Still, there have been some small wins for the Friars in recent years, though they're few and far between.

Ethan Salas, however, is a huge victory. When Salas, Padres Mission's No. 1 prospect, was called up Tuesday as rosters expanded, then made his MLB debut Wednesday in a 7-3 road loss to the Cincinnati Reds, it was the culmination of a process that began several years ago with scouts watching a young Salas as he grew up in Florida. Because of his family ties to Venezuela, Salas qualified as an international free agent, which made him eligible to be signed as a 16-year-old.

Salas was the top international free agent in the 2023 class due to his advanced defensive skills, including a rocket arm, and his ability to hit, including being a left-handed hitter. The Padres then signed Salas for what at the time was a record $5.6 million bonus. The rest of his story is well-known. He made his pro debut at Low-A Lake Elsinore two days before his 17th birthday while many other international free agents were playing in the Dominican Summer League, at least a year or two before coming to the U.S. Yet he was already playing in full-season ball. We know everything that happened after that, but you have to give credit to the Padres for identifying and landing a top talent, then developing him into a major-league player who made his debut as a 20-year-old.

But this was one of the few developmental triumphs for the Padres. If you take a look at the current 40-man roster, there are only six other homegrown players.

Five of them play significant roles with the team, including Jackson Merrill and right-handed reliever Bradgley Rodriguez. Merrill was the Padres' first-round draft choice in 2021 out of a Maryland high school as a shortstop who was shifted to center in spring training before he made his debut in 2024. Rodriguez was signed as an international free agent in 2021 out of Venezuela as a 17-year-old and worked his way up to making his debut in May 2025, going down after one game and coming back up for six September appearances and then being included on the postseason roster.

The other four homegrown players on the 40-man roster are left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon (international, 2016), catcher Luis Campusano (second-round pick, 2016), right-handed reliever David Morgan (undrafted free agent, 2022) and right-handed reliever Alek Jacob (16th-round draft pick, 2021). All are in the majors except for Jacob, who is at Triple-A El Paso.

To be fair, Preller has used many of those draft picks, international players and undrafted free agents in trades to improve the roster for a specific season. Also, they missed on some players, already releasing two players from the 2025 draft. Otherwise, the lack of a productive farm system has made the Padres reliant on signing veteran free agents, like third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop Xander Bogaerts, or finding someone on the transaction scrap heap, like first baseman Gavin Sheets, left fielder Luis Rengifo or outfielder Samad Taylor.

But now with Salas making his debut and all of the celebration around his call-up, that should send a signal to Preller and the Padres. Fans identified with Salas early and watched him come up, riding the highs and the lows along with him. They could do the same with Kruz Schoolcraft and Coleman Borthwick, two high school pitchers taken in the first round the last two years.

Raising these players to become major leaguers also helps with salary. As things currently stand, the first three years, a player makes a minimum salary, then has three years of arbitration. Of the 47 players on the Padres' 40-man roster (players on the 60-day injured list don't technically count), 15 are making some version of the minimum. Conversely, the Los Angeles Dodgers have 20 such players on their 40-man roster, which also has 47 players.

I am not saying Preller should abandon his philosophy of trading prospects for MLB roster upgrades, but there can be some restraint. Was sending their five 2024 draft choices, including their second-, third- and fourth-round picks, in a six-player package for a rental first baseman (Ryan O'Hearn) and an average outfielder who had another year on his contract (Ramon Laureano) the right price or an overpay? It felt like a heavy price.

Who knows if any of those players amount to much, but what did O'Hearn and Laureano contribute (Laureano's injury aside)? Certainly not anything worth the type of investment made in those prospects.

Regardless, Salas' MLB debut Wednesday showed the type of payoff sticking with prospects can benefit a team. Otherwise, you'll be left digging for diamonds in the rough every year.

View full article