Salas headlines Padres prospects off to strong starts in 2026

For many Top 100 talents, they travel on a prospect hype train. For Ethan Salas, it’s been closer to a hype roller coaster.

Signed for $5.6 million in January 2023, the Padres prodigy ranked as high as No. 8 overall on MLB Pipeline’s preseason Top 100 rankings a year later after a strong Minor League stateside debut, only to tumble after a down season at High-A Fort Wayne and fall again completely out of the Top 100 on this year’s preseason list because of a stress reaction in his back that limited him to only 10 games in 2025.

That roller coaster is pointed back up this spring. Salas just rejoined the Top 100 and is set to jump up even further in an upcoming update this week after slashing .320/.396/.546 with five homers through 28 games for Double-A San Antonio. The catcher, who still only turns 20 on June 1, has become a nightly offensive highlight reel full of hard-hit balls – a huge development for the Padres’ No. 2 prospect, who drew reviews as a possible plus-plus defender even during the down times.

“Ethan's work ethic is elite,” said San Diego assistant director of player development Mike Daly. “It’s a credit to our high performance team, our trainers, our medical group in terms of being able to know what that balance was and when to push him. He spent a lot of time in Arizona working on his body, letting it recover, but also adding strength, good strength. It's been great to see some of that reward for all his hard work pay off here early in 2026.”

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One of the focuses during the down time was the left-handed slugger’s load at the plate.

Salas has transitioned from a straight-on stance with a slight leg lift to an open stance that closes with a toe tap. While his overall contact rate is roughly the same from 2024 (82.9 percent) to ‘25 (83.4), the improved rhythm that comes with the change has improved his intent at the plate and led to louder contact.

“With that toe tap, he’s been on time more, which is certainly how he's still controlling the strike zone,” Daly said. “I think for that reason, coupled with all the work that he did last year, he's hitting the ball more consistently, and he's hitting the ball harder.”

This feels increasingly like the Salas that was promised back when he was the game’s top international player three years ago. His missed games may have clouded the mystery of his future last year, but a potential everyday role in San Diego is becoming increasingly clearer every time he dons the tools of ignorance in 2026.

“The biggest thing,” Daly said, “is just his health.”

Here are three other Padres prospect standouts from early on in 2026:

Kash Mayfield, LHP (No. 4)

The 25th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft dealt with a spring illness and first-half shoulder trouble that limited his first full season to 60 2/3 innings at Single-A Lake Elsinore last year, though he did post a 2.97 ERA with 88 strikeouts in that time. He’s been just as stingy with High-A Fort Wayne to begin his age-21 season as he owns a 1.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in six starts (24 2/3 innings) entering this week. His .107 average-against is fourth-lowest among Minor Leaguers with at least 20 frames in 2026.

The southpaw’s low-80s changeup continues to be his best pitch with a 46 percent whiff per Synergy Sports data, but while his fastball velo still sits 90-92 mph, he’s been able to add about 1.5 inches of ride to the heater, according to Daly. That movement gets the fastball more whiffs in the upper-third of the zone and opens the rest of the repertoire.

“He's made every start up there in Fort Wayne, which gives him the opportunity to work on his arsenal,” Daly said. “He has much more clarity in terms of his attack plan. I think it's just part of the natural progression of him getting more physical, stronger, and having more and more clarity about what it looks like to get on the mound to go attack hitters and get them out.”

Ryan Wideman, OF (No. 7)

The 2025 third-rounder out of Western Kentucky led the Minors with 27 steals in 32 games for Lake Elsinore entering Monday. Of course in order to steal bases, you need to get on base, and Wideman has accomplished that by slashing .328/.420/.541. That’s a significant improvement from his .229/.330/.271 line in 112 plate appearances in the California League during his first taste of pro ball last year.

Wideman joined the San Diego system with a giant leg kick -- more of a stomp, really -- as part of his load in the box. This year, there have been times when he’ll still go to the kick, but in general, his pre-pitch movements have been quieter and more streamlined, and his contact rate has improved drastically from 69.4 percent in ‘25 to 81.6 percent so far this spring. There’s still a lot of ground-ball contact, but overall, getting the bat on the ball and letting the 70-grade speedster use his wheels was the first priority.

“To Ryan's credit, he was open to it,” Daly said. “He had the adjustability to it. Working on the timing in his lower half was a focus point for us, to make the move not quite as big and more simple and repeatable. That should help keep the focus in the middle of the field as well.”

Alex McCoy, OF (No. 19)

Nothing else will draw attention toward McCoy’s (quite literal) strengths like this: he had a 119.5 mph exit velocity on an April 12 groundout for Fort Wayne. Sure, you could argue it was an out that didn’t leave the infield dirt, but even so, consider this: the highest exit velocity in the Majors this season is 119.0 mph by Oneil Cruz. No one else has a batted ball in The Show above 117.8 mph this season.

McCoy, who signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra in 2024, has wowed with his top-of-the-scale raw power ever since. The 6-foot-5 right-handed slugger battled hamstring and quad injuries that limited him to 53 games with Lake Elsinore last year, but he is putting on a show this spring with a .284/.344/.541 line and five homers in 30 games. His 17 extra-base hits are fifth-most in the Midwest League, and while his propensity to expand the zone dulls his overall outlook, McCoy is making his at-bats a must watch at High-A.

“He's 275 pounds, but he holds it very well,” Daly said. “He can move on the field. He still gets stolen bases, so yeah, there are a number of positives. Credit to our scouting group, that’s a really good guy to bring in after the Draft. He's an interesting package, for sure -- big, physical guy that's shown some bat to ball and clearly has power.”