Ethan Salas is looking to get his career back on track.
Perhaps a 105 mph home run in the Padres’ 7-5 loss to a team of Cubs minor leaguers in the Spring Breakout game on Saturday night will get him started on a rebound season.
Ethan Salas with a rocket to right field 🚀
The Padres’ No. 2 prospect launches this ball 104.9 MPH! #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/ZSNs0vfUnM
— MLB (@MLB) March 22, 2026
Salas and Kale Fountain both homered in the prospect showcase at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.
The 19-year-old Salas played just 10 games last year at Double-A San Antonio before a stress reaction in his lower back essentially ended his season. He didn’t get back on the field until big-league camp in February and has fallen out of MLB.com’s top-100 prospects rankings after so much time out of the limelight.
Salas originally signed for $5.6 million as the top international amateur in 2023.
Ticketed for a return to San Antonio this season, Salas also singled and stole a base before his three-run homer in the fifth inning gave the Padres a 4-2 lead. He later walked, added a sacrifice fly and threw out two runners from behind the plate.
Meantime, the 20-year-old Fountain hit a towering home run high on the berm in left field in the third inning and also singled and drew a walk. Fountain is moving to the outfield now that he’s more than a year removed from the Tommy John surgery he needed on his throwing arm after he was taken in the fifth round in 2024.
On the mound, left-handers Luis Gutierrez, Kruz Schoolcraft and Kash Mayfield all turned in a scoreless inning.
Right-hander Lan-Hong Su struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning and right-hander Garrett Hawkins allowed a solo homer in the eighth.
Right-hander Jaxon Dalena allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning in the sixth.