Lake Elsinore, California. — Ethan Salas has set a goal to complete spring training with a full season player this year.

He didn’t make it all the way through, but he still reached the full-season ball surprisingly quickly.

Salas made his professional debut at the age of 16 at Low-A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday after being promoted by the Padres from lengthy spring training. The Venezuelan catcher has been on base in seven of his first eight at-bats with the Storm, allowing three singles, one double and three walks in his first two games. He turned 17 on Thursday.

“I’m not the super star type,” said Salas, the Padres’ third-place contender. “I’m like, ‘Okay, this is just a game,’ because I’ve been working for this all my life. I’ve been hearing about it my whole life.”

Salas signed with the Padres in January for $5.6 million, the highest bonus of any player in the international signing class in 2023. The pedigree certainly speaks to his talent, but he exceeded every reasonable expectation.

At the age of 16, he’s already made just two full-season appearances in baseball, making Salas a rare addition.

Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias famously threw in the five major low-A lakes in 2013 at the age of 16, but there are very few examples of young, rookie-level position players.

Wilmer Flores played one game for Low-A Savannah in the 2008 16-year-old season, but was 17 when he played. Flores turned 17 on August 6th and played in the Sand Bnats on August 27th.

Angel Villarona appeared in five short-season games for the Salem Kaiser in 2007 and played in the domestic league at rookie level and above in his 16-year-old season, but all five of those games came after he turned 17. It was about He appeared in five games for the Volcanos on August 13 and September 1-5.

The last time a 16-year-old position player received a full-season extension was when Edgar Renteria played 116 games for Row A Kane County in the 1993 16-year-old season (August 7). turned 17 at the time). Despite some discrepancies regarding Renteria’s age, his brother told the South Florida Sun Sentinel about Renteria’s age: Birth certificate has been tampered with As such, he was able to sign with the Marlins as a 15-year-old underage, and was actually placed in Low-A at 16.

Notably, Renteria appeared in 45 games in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League the year before he played a full season. As a catcher, Salas leapfrogged rookie level and went straight to Low-A, making his professional debut.

“I came here to do this, do you know what I mean?” “So it’s not like, ‘Oh, that was so crazy.’ It was like, ‘Okay, great.’ Let’s keep rolling. ”

Thalas’ skills were on display soon after arriving at Lake Elsinore.

In his first professional at-bat against 19-year-old Visalia (D-backs) right-hander Jacob Steinmetz, Salas fought his way through eight pitches and hit a backwards double to left-center. He added a single in his second at-bat, struck out in his third, fought back from a count of 0-2, and gave a walk in his final at-bat in his debut.

After serving as DH in his debut, Salas made his first appearance as a catcher in Wednesday’s second game. He ran on base in all four at-bats, allowing two walks and two singles, displaying soft hands as a receiver while calmly handling all types of pitches, and impressive timing and lateral agility on difficult dirt blocks. He jumped quickly and made an impressive play. He came out of his crouch to catch the dribbler in front of the plate and hit a perfect throw to first base to put him out.

It was poise and performance on both sides of the ball, the type usually found in experienced professionals rather than teenagers old enough to drive cars.

“I mean, if you didn’t know he was 16, you would think he was acting and playing in his early 20s,” said Lake Elsinore third baseman Graham Polley. “It’s crazy, but it’s so cool.”

This is a continuation of the prowess Salas showed in spring training, taking on Padres All-Star right-handers Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish like veterans and Mariners’ burgeoning ace George Kirby in the backfield game. I decided to hit a triple from.

Salas continued to shine through lengthy spring training, but it wasn’t just his athleticism that convinced the Padres that he was ready to play ball for a full season before he turned 17.

“I’d like to see if he’s ready to play from an ability standpoint…but more importantly, can he transition away from complex baseball?” Riley Westman, Padres farm director said Mr. “Is he going to take care of the lift?” Is he going to eat properly? Is he going to work on business away from the scene? He’s 16 years old, he’s basically a high school student, and is he someone you can send off with peace of mind?

“So I think the biggest thing he showed us while he was in Arizona was that he was the first guy to walk into the gym. He’s like the first person to come to this complex. A lot of the little invisible things that we feel affect the playing side of things, he really cares about his business and he showed a lot of maturity as a person. It was a big thing for us.”

Padres’ Salas makes rare move to low A

The Padres’ hopeful catcher will get a chance to make his Low-A debut as a 16-year-old.

It’s hard to define Salas’ success this season. Because there’s little precedent for a player at such a young position to play a full season as a catcher. Renteria batted .203/.268/.232 for Kane County in 1993 when he was 16 and turned 17. Blue Jays shortstop Jimmy Kelly hit .219/.263/.244 in the opening game of 1987 at Row A Dunedin. He was 16 and turned 17 in July.

The Padres are less concerned with specific numbers than how Salas handles the rigors of a full season. Given the nature of the current international market, Salas has worked primarily with trainers over the past few years. Prior to this year, he has not played regularly since he was 13 years old.

“We’re looking for this kid to gain experience,” Westman said. There is nothing concrete to rate him. I want to see this kid go out and build relationships with pitchers, and now he’s making meaningful, high-quality at-bats on a team that’s doing really well, and playing a key role in the clubhouse. . Those are probably some of the biggest things I want from Ethan. ”

Sarah has one specific goal she wants to achieve. While outside observers may focus on his individual performance and speed of promotion, Salas’ sole objective in his debut season is team orientation.

“Let’s win the championship,” Salas said. “I want to win the championship before I leave. I want to leave here with the ring.”