San Diego Padres top prospects 2024: 17-year-old catcher Ethan Salas continues to fly through the system
The Major League Baseball offseason is underway, and that means everyone is thinking about the future. In most cities, this means next season; However, in some cases, it means the bigger picture, i.e. the next three to five years. You either sell gains or you sell hope, as the old saying goes. We here at CBS Sports want to offer as much hope as possible this time of winter by evaluating each team’s farm system.
Of course, this does not mean that every team has an equally good farm system – some teams, as you will discover during this process, lack in this regard. However, it means CBS Sports will spend the next two months examining the top three prospects in each organization. We define “prospects” as retaining their rookie eligibility for the 2024 season, so if a young player is out, that’s likely why.
These lists and ratings are formed after conversations with scouts, a**lysts and player development types. There is also direct evaluation and bias in the mix. Keep in mind that rating a player is a difficult task, and it’s okay if you don’t agree with the rating. These are opinions, and have no real impact on the future. You can see the list of the 25 best games for winter by clicking here.
With that in mind, let’s get to it by dissecting the San Diego Padres.
1. Ethan Salas, C (17 years old)
- Top 25 Ranking: number 8
- The short version: A shockingly polished defender with offensive upside.
- MLB eta: Summer 2024
No teenager has made it to the big league level since Ivan Rodriguez did so in 1991. Salas is going to change that. He has until June 2026 to do so as well. The Padres caught him during a big-league exhibition game last spring and he didn’t look out of place even though he was 16 at the time and entering his first professional season. Salas is more than just a preternaturally talented receiver. He showed good contact sk**ls throughout his first season, even hitting nine home runs in 48 plate appearances on A-ball (four of which were in center field.) The Padres pushed him forward at a solid pace, allowing him to close out the year by sampling nine games of Double- A. It’s reasonable to think his bat will be delayed as a result of San Diego’s apparent rapid development plan; The aforementioned Rodriguez wasn’t close to being a major league hitter until his third big league season. However, Salas’ defense should keep him in the lineup. It is not wise to bet too heavily on young hunters, who are often as vulnerable to attrition as their battery mates. Salas appears to be the exception.
- The short version: A contact-based left-hander with defensive versatility.
- MLB eta: Summer 2024
The Padres made three of the first 75 picks in the 2021 draft. Two of their picks (James Wood and Robert Ga*ser) have since been traded as part of the Juan Soto and Josh Hader trades. Merrill, the highest-rated of the three, remains in the organization and should soon be part of the big-league lineup. Merrill connected on more than 80% of his swings last season, leading to a cumulative slash line of .277/.326/.444 across High- and Double-A. His ability to put the bat on the ball is his biggest selling point. He has some power, but it’s almost exclusively limited to his catch side, and it’s hard to see him replacing Xander Bogaerts as the Padres’ everyday shortstop. San Diego began playing Merrill at other positions down the stretch, including first and second base and out in left field. If he stays with the Padres next season — and as Wood and Ga*ser explain, you can never be sure — he could begin his professional career in a more utility role.
3. Dylan Lesko, RHP (20 years old)
- The short version: Just add the control.
- MLB eta: Summer 2025
Lesko was considered a top prep arm and a top-10 prospect in the 2022 draft before he tore his UCL and required Tommy John surgery in April. He made his debut in 2023, pitching 33 innings across three levels and showing both a fastball that can dance above the mid-90s and his trademark changeup. The results don’t matter given the sample size and circumstances, but we will note that he struck out more than a third of the batters he faced. (Of course, he also walked more than 15% of them, so take your sugar with some salt.) We’re rating Lesko No. 3 based on our belief that his normal off-season and greater distance from surgery (control is often said to be the last part to return) will enable him to direct More hits. If so, expect its stock to rise significantly.