SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ethan Salas is set to become the youngest player to catch in a major league postseason game when he starts for the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of their Wild Card Series with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
The 20-year-old Salas is catching and batting seventh in the lineup announced by manager Craig Stammen at Petco Park. Salas also will be the youngest player to appear in the postseason for San Diego.
The Padres called up their
top prospect on Sept. 1, and he became the youngest player to catch in a major league game since Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez in 1991. Salas, who was born in June 2006, went 10 for 24 to finish the regular season after going hitless in his first 15 big league at-bats.
Salas had a series of clutch hits during his late surge, and on Sept. 16 he became the youngest catcher to have a multi-homer game. He also earned praise for his defensive skills from the Padres' staff, and even his acumen with ABS challenges was excellent.
That was more than enough to earn a spot on the 26-man postseason roster, and now Salas is getting a start for his playoff debut. He will catch veteran Nick Pivetta, who has already worked with the youngster in the regular season.
Bob Didier was 20 years and 230 days old when he caught for the Atlanta Braves in the 1969 NL Championship Series.
Salas is a left-handed hitter, while fellow Padres catchers Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano are righties. That makes Salas a natural fit against Kevin Gausman, the Cubs' right-handed starter in Game 2, after lefty Matthew Boyd started the opener.
San Diego jumped all over Boyd while taking the series opener with an 8-0 victory. The Padres have won 18 of their past 21 games as they enter Game 2 hoping to earn a trip to Milwaukee for the division series this weekend.
The Padres signed Salas, who was born in Florida and raised mostly in Venezuela, as an international free agent in January 2023 with a record $5.6 million bonus.
While general manager AJ Preller traded away nearly all of the top prospects in his fruitful farm system over the past half-decade in his attempts to win a World Series immediately, he didn't deal Salas, who is widely considered one of the best catching prospects in recent baseball history.
The Padres haven't hesitated to allow their top prospects onto the playoff stage during their current franchise-record run of five postseason appearances in seven years. Fernando Tatis Jr. made his playoff debut at 21 years old in 2020, and Jackson Merrill also was 21 for his debut in 2024.
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