SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 29, 2026) — Former San Antonio Mission Ethan Salas took home the crown of 2026 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year during last night’s fourth annual Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Awards, announced live on MLB Network. Salas beat out Druw Jones, last year's winner and son of MLB Hall of Famer Andruw Jones, as well as Minnesota Twins prospect Marek Houston.
Salas began the 2026 season with the Missions and played 72 games for San Antonio. His promotion to Triple-A El Paso saw him play just 24 games for the Chihuahuas before getting the quick call up to the majors, where he helped the Padres clinch their third consecutive playoff berth.
Between San Antonio and El Paso, the 20-year-old caught 27% of base runners trying to steal, higher than the major league average caught stealing rate that sits just above 21%. Salas had an average pop time of 1.86 seconds on throws to the bases, faster than the major league average of 2.0 seconds.
The Kissimmee, Florida continues to rack up the awards. Over the past week, Baseball America named Salas the Padres’ Minor League Player of the Year while the Padres also internally awarded that title to the catcher. This is Salas’s second MiLB award, as he earned Minor League Debut of the Year back in 2023 when he originally joined the Missions as a 17-year-old and hit a walk-off double in his first game.
Salas and the Padres begin their 2026 playoff campaign tonight at 9 p.m. in San Diego against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series. If Salas gets time behind the plate, he will become the youngest catcher to appear in a postseason game in MLB history.
The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for more than 120 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.