SAN DIEGO — As he bounced from his native Venezuela to watching his brother play in the Arizona Fall League to the Padres' complex in the Dominican Republic to his introduction to Petco Park on Tuesday, one thing was as essential as the clothes and catching gear stuffed in Ethan Salas' well-worn luggage.
His laptop, outfitted with "Call of Duty," "Fortnite" and, of course, "MLB The Show."
The Padres' newest millionaire, after all, is still just 16 years old.
"It feels good," Salas said in the home clubhouse at Petco Park. "It's what I've been working for my whole life, since I was a kid. It feels good to be doing what I've always dreamed of doing."
Tuesday's visit to Petco Park is just a pit stop as he gets started on a professional career.
The consensus No. 1 prospect in the international amateur market, Salas signed for $5.6 million on Sunday — the third-highest bonus for an international amateur in franchise history. He made his way to San Diego this week and expects to bounce to Florida soon, back to San Diego in time for next month's FanFest activities and ultimately to Arizona for the start of his first spring training.
Most international signees begin their climbs in the Dominican Summer League.
The latest of his family to make his way to affiliated ball, Salas is expected to make his professional debut later this summer in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, an aggressive assignment reserved in recent years for the likes of Victor Lizarraga, Rosman Verdugo and Jarlin Susana.
Both Lizarraga and Verdugo are top-15 prospects in the organization and Susana was a key piece in the deal for outfielder Juan Soto.
As for Salas, internal evaluators believe he belongs among Jackson Merrill, Dylan Lesko and Luis Campusano as the organization's top prospects. He had been on the Padres' radar since they missed out in their pursuit of Salas' older brother, who signed with the Marlins for $2.8 million in 2019.
José Salas Jr. is currently ranked No. 5 in Miami's system by MLB.com.
The Salas' father played in the Braves' system, an uncle played in the Blue Jays system and a grandfather played in the Astros' and Royals' systems.
"We were close to signing José Jr. … and you watch José and you see (younger brother) Andrew, you see Ethan on the side doing their training," Padres international scouting director Chris Kemp said. "You knew going in to scout José Jr. that there was going to be a lineage of players coming through this family."
The initial impression that Salas made on Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller — a first at-bat homer off a 93 mph fastball as a 14-year-old — didn't hurt as the team began to draw up plans for its 2023 class.
"I brought A.J. in to see him and I was like, 'this kid could be special,'" Kemp recalled. "His first AB was a pull-side homer vs. an older release guy. We just looked at each other.
'''Told you.'"
Indeed, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Salas was considered the purest left-handed bat in the class with plenty of room to grow into more power. Scouts say he has plus tools behind the plate. As they got to know the latest Salas climbing international signing boards, the intangibles began to crystalize.
He was mature enough to catch 5 2/3 no-hit innings this offseason in Venezuelan winter league game against men ("My heart was racing," he said). He'd grown up in baseball ("It's really important to see how things are, because some guys that get in here are blind-sided," he said). His English was already so polished that the Padres had no problem trotting him out for an interview on a national cable program shortly after his signing, although his media savvy is a distant second to the ability to communicate as he quarterbacks a pitching staff.
"Being bilingual in the game of baseball is important, as a leader and a catcher," Salas said. "You've got to be a leader. You have to make sure all guys can connect in a clubhouse setting and we can all be a family. Super important."
Salas was smiling widely as he spoke for more than 8 minutes in front of the locker that had belonged to Craig Stammen the last six years. He met Blake Snell earlier in in the day in his first trip to Petco Park and was eager to shake hands with Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts in the coming weeks.
Given the setting, it was extremely easy to envision himself sharing the clubhouse with them.
The kid can hardly wait to get started.
"Who doesn't want to be a Padre in these times?" Salas said. "Such exciting times. The team is so fun, exciting city, beautiful city. Who doesn't want to be a Padre right now? It's a special place."
