The San Diego Padres, which invested hotly every winter offseason, were also bold in collecting promising players.
On the 16th (Korean time), Jesse Sanchez, 메이저놀이터 who reports Latin American baseball news on MLB.com, said, “According to industry insiders, we have signed Venezuelan catcher Ethan Salas, who ranked first in the MLB pipeline’s top 50 international prospects list this year.” . The down payment is 5.6 million dollars (about 6.9 billion won).
San Diego has used up most of its $5,825,500 international amateur signing limit this year to sign one Salas.
The media said, ‘One of the best catcher prospects in recent history, Salas was born to play baseball. His grandfather, father and uncle were all professional players. His talent on the field matches his family ties. The younger brother of current Miami Marlins prospect Jose Salas, the 16-year-old will eventually become one of the best players in his family,’ he explained.
Regarding Salas’ strengths, ‘I like the ability to send the ball that comes into the strike zone all over the ground. He has shown pure power and his power will increase as he develops. He has an unrefined swing and has the ability to hit home runs in batting drills and games,’ he said. ‘On defense, he shows plus potential with soft blocking and receiving ability. He has good throwing skills and a strong arm. He also emphasized that he has leadership and he’s good on base as a catcher.
The contract period for international amateur players began on the 15th. He must be 16 years old immediately before signing the contract and 17 years old no later than September 1 of the following year. This year, players born between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006 are eligible to sign.
Salas, born on June 1, 2006, is a right-handed catcher prospect. In the scouting report on the 20-80 scale from the ‘MLB Pipeline’, he received a score of 60 for contact, 50 for power, 50 for running base, 60 for throwing, 55 for defense, and 55 overall.