Ethan Salas Achieves Impressive Double in Professional Debut at 16; First Single-A Player Since 2013

The San Diego Padres recently made headlines when they signed a highly-touted Venezuelan catcher, Ethan Salas, to a $5.6 million bonus on the first day of the 2023 international amateur signing period. Salas’s impressive stats and remarkable game have drawn major attention from the baseball world.

Salas was born in Venezuela on June 1, 2006. The youngster began playing amateur baseball shortly after and quickly established himself as one of the most promising Venezuelan catchers in his age group. He had a knack for swinging hard and finding holes in opposing team defenses. He also had a dominant arm that often caught baserunners off guard.

Salas’s performance during batting practice wowed the Padres staff, especially Chris Kemp, the Padres scouting director. Kemp told MLB.com, “He’s kind of the total package catcher. This is my ninth year doing international scouting, and for us, this is the most interesting guy we’ve scouted.”

The Padres brass eventually decided to invest their entire $5,825,500 bonus pool into Salas. It was an audacious move, but it paid off. Salas has hit multiple home runs in Petco Park workouts, proving that his current pop is no joke.

Although Salas has yet to make his professional debut, his blazing talent and potential has definitely put him on the Major League spotlight. Salas is expected to become a cornerstone of the San Diego Padres’ system for many years to come. He already has the attention of baseball insiders across the league.

Salas opened his professional career in a spectacular way. He started the game at DH, worked the count full, then doubled in his first pro at-bat. This four-bagger just added more fuel to fire of excitement surrounding Salas’s career.

Ethan Salas is still a work in progress, but he’s already made a great impression and fans can’t wait to see what he does next. The future looks bright for this talented Venezuelan catcher, and the San Diego Padres are excited to see how far Salas can go.