Team: San Diego Padres 

Age: 18 

Prospect Status: Ranked No.6 on MLB Pipeline Top 100 overall rankings 

Rated 60/80 on overall 20/80 scale: 

Ranked by many as the top catching prospect in baseball, Salas brings both strong offensive potential and well above average defense behind the plate. The Padres signed him to a $5.6MM bonus to bring him in the organization to be their catcher of the future. 

While he’ll soon be well on his way to doing so, his numbers this year with the bat have left something to be desired. Currently playing in the lower levels in the organization, he’s hitting just .196/.287/.290 in 86 games on the year. However, he’s just 18 years old and did receive an aggressive promotion to Double A at the end of last year after putting up big numbers and received a look against more advanced competition in the process. 

There’s also much hype on the defensive side as well. Scouts love his arm and ability to be a strong receiver behind the plate. Paired with big offensive potential, that’s the ingredients to be one of the best catchers in the entire game one day. 

The Padres have been playing at the very top when it comes to signing international amateur players, and pairing Salas with this years addition of Leodalis De Vries, San Diego has quite the future in these two future impact players.