Mike Shildt Has High Praise for Padres' Top Prospect

Will this young star make it to the big leagues soon?

Ethan Salas is a special player. 

At only 17 years of age, MLB.com has already recognized him as a top-10 prospect in all of baseball. Even more impressive, he's widely considered to be the best catcher prospect in the sport. 

The catcher out of Venezuela first signed with San Diego as a 16-year-old. 

The Padres thought so highly of the catcher, that he signed a $5.6 million deal with the club. San Diego only had an international pool budget of roughly $5.8 million during that cycle. As such, one can see how much they value Salas and his eventual upside as a big leaguer. 

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Most scouting reports mention Salas in the vein of a complete catcher. We're talking about a plus-defender behind the plate, but also a hitter for average and power at the plate. 

While not unheard of for a player under the age of 20 to play Major League Baseball, it's extremely rare. Salas is already a Double-AA player for the Padres. 

With more time spent developing both physically and technically, there's a chance you see him with the big club as early as 2025.

Manager Mike Shildt was asked about Salas recently. Per reporter AJ Cassavell, this is what the manager had to say about San Diego's prized prospect: 

"He's like this old soul that just kind of gets it. It's very impressive how he handles himself. Clearly I'm going to get to know him further and deeper. I'm really impressed by his ability. But I'm impressed by how together this dude is and how well he handles himself for everything that's been thrown at him."

Per Mike Shildt via MLB.com

Salas will have plenty of time to work on his game, as the Padres don't have to rush him to the Big Leagues before he's ready. The combination of Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka should be adequate to hold down the spot before Salas comes up. 

At the very least, neither appears to be good enough to block Salas in any way. The stud prospect is one of many in San Diego's system. 

This latest update from Baseball America included six Padres in the top 100. They included Salas, shortstop Jackson Merrill, left-hander Robby Snelling, right-hander Dylan Lesko, right-hander Drew Thorpe and international signee Leodalis de Vries.