TEMPE, Ariz. – The Padres’ top prospect had the club’s best showing in the third annual Spring Breakout showcase Saturday night. Ethan Salas went 2-for-3 with a loud homer, a walk, and a sacrifice fly to lead the offense in a game San Diego dropped 7-5.
Ethan Salas put a perfect swing on his homer. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
The homer came in the fifth inning with two on and two out. Salas worked the count full before jumping a changeup and hitting it 393 feet onto the berm in right field to give the Padres their only lead on the night, 4-2.
Hitting second in the lineup, Salas lobbed a single to the opposite field, his first time up, then promptly stole second. In his next plate appearance, he slashed a ball to short at 108.5 mph.
After the homer, he drew an 8-pitch walk, fouling off several pitches on the outside corner after he got two strikes on him. He came to the plate in the ninth with a chance to tie it, but settled for a well-struck sacrifice fly the opposite way.
“He did a really good job of representing his skillset and going out there and showing people what he’s made of,” said Brian Esposito, a Padres special assistant in player development who managed the club Saturday night.
As well as he did offensively, Salas matched the performance behind the plate, throwing out two would-be base-stealers and making a tough catch on a pop foul.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him play a real baseball game,” said Esposito. “He manages a game really well behind the plate. He was astute, locked in on dugout awareness, just understanding situations. The kid can go out and play baseball.”
For Salas, the night was another important step as he returned from a lost year. After only 10 games in San Antonio last year, he suffered a stress reaction in his back that sidelined him for the rest of the year. While he spent plenty of time working on the mental aspects of baseball, that’s a far cry from playing every day.
“It’s way better doing this, actually putting it into play, than receiving all the information and not being able to do anything with it,” said Salas.
Unfortunately for the Padres, the showing from Salas was one of the few highlights of the night.
The club opted to run a fleet of pitchers out for a single inning each. Most were underwhelming.
Lefty Luis Gutierrez, who ranked as high as 19 on our individual top listings but missed the MadFriars top 20, got the start over other more heralded arms in the system. The 22-year-old ramped up his fastball to 97 mph and landed it in the zone effectively, but didn’t really fool anyone. After giving up a leadoff single, Gutierrez got lucky when Cubs prospect James Triantos smashed a ball up the middle just as Dylan Grego broke to cover second base on a stolen base attempt. Grego and the ball arrived at the base about a half step ahead of the runner, and Grego then converted the double play.
Miguel Mendez followed, throwing triple-digit gas, but showing below-average command and poor movement characteristics with the pitch. The likely opening day starter for Double-A San Antonio gave up a monster home run to Cubs prospect Owen Ayers, who spent the last two seasons in High-A.
Ethan Salas and Kruz Schoolcraft carry many of the Padres’ hopes for the future. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Things went downhill from there as Kruz Schoolcraft, the system’s top pitching prospect, followed. The lefty sat 94 with his fastball, landing only five of 15 in the zone. He threw his best offering, his changeup, four times, but appeared to have no feel for it and didn’t get a swing as he missed the plate every time.
Kannon Kemp showed significant progress over the last 12 months, as he threw his fastball up to 98.5 mph, though the pitch still shows limited life even at that higher velocity. He got just one whiff on 14 swings and had his slider tagged for a pair of hits that led to a run. Kemp was pushed to 25 pitches to get through his inning, and the velocity faded in his final two batters.
Kash Mayfield followed, giving up a leadoff single to Triantos, who Salas erased with his first caught stealing on the night. The 2024 first-rounder didn’t throw a breaking ball in his nine offerings and only used his trademark changeup once as he focused on his sinker and four-seamer, which tended to blend.
Jaxon Dalena, who has been one of the names getting a ton of run since the start of camp, had a night he’ll want to flush, surrendering four runs to take the loss. The righty, who turns 24 next week, gave up a pair of booming homers, including a 449 monster shot when he went back-to-back with his cutter to Kade Snell. While his fastball sat at 95 and largely had impressive movement metrics, Cubs batters squared it up several times, and he uncorked two wild pitches with it as he appeared to overthrow. Johan Moreno had to come on to finish the inning, throwing his nasty slider to induce an easy fly ball to end the chaos.
Lan-Hong Su impressed in his first in-game action in the Padres system. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
The least experienced arm in the game delivered the best showing of the night. Lan-Hong Su, who signed for six figures late in last year’s international free agency period, worked a perfect seventh inning. The 19-year-old, who will open the year in Arizona, needed just 11 pitches to record a pair of strikeouts and a weak groundout, showing a fastball up to 97 with 17 inches of induced vertical break, and feel for both his curve and changeup.
Su’s stuff was better than what was widely reported at the time of his signing, and what he’s shown in backfield activities since arriving last month.
Garrett Hawkins, who had a great spring in his first big league camp as a member of the 40-player roster, capped the night with an outing that looked like he was more focused on getting his work in than showcasing his stuff. The big righty didn’t register a fastball above 96 while landing only 2 of 9 in the zone.
Kale Fountain knew he got all of his home run in the Spring Breakout game. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Beyond Salas, the top showing of the night in brown and gold came from Kale Fountain, who continues to adjust to his new role in right field. The club’s top position player from the 2024 draft got the Padres on the board, leading off the top of the third with a towering blast deep onto the hill in left-center.
He drew a four-pitch walk in his next trip to the plate, then showed off his speed with a stolen base. Even as he struggled with injuries through his first professional campaign last year, the Nebraska high school product swiped 21 bases in 22 attempts.
Fountain added a screaming infield hit to the hole at shortstop, which he legged out after recording the night’s highest exit velocity at 110.3.
“I am getting more reps, the nerves are going away, and I am showing up every day and learning more about the game,” said Fountain. “You can’t develop if you’re not on the field.”
Odds and Ends
Center fielder Ryan Wideman showed off both his immense athleticism and his rough edges in the game. Last year’s third-rounder collected a solid single in his first at-bat, but then got a poor jump when he attempted a stolen base and was thrown out. He struck out in his other three trips to the plate, swinging and missing five times in the process. Defensively, he made a leaping catch in the outfield that was popular on social media, but it was one of several balls on the night that Wideman read incorrectly off the bat. He will likely head back to Lake Elsinore to open the year. … Jose Verdugo, the youngest player on the Padres’ roster, had a hit in two plate appearances after entering the game in the sixth. The 18-year-old, who was one of the Padres’ top performers in the DSL last year, will be one of the key position players to watch in Arizona this year.
