Precocious Ethan Salas Could Set Top 100 Record

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Image credit: Padres catcher Ethan Salas (Photo Courtesy of Gail Verderico)

As you probably noticed, Padres catcher Ethan Salas has moved into the Top 10 on our newly updated Top 100 Prospects rankings. He currently ranks No. 6.

That’s a lofty ranking for a player who just turned 17 at the start of June. But it’s actually way more unusual than you may think.

While we now update our Top 100 Prospects rankings monthly during the season, we still treat the offseason Top 100 as canon. That’s the list we refer to when we look at whether a team has set a record for most players on a Top 100 or other notable events. It’s the Top 100 ranking we’ve been doing for more than 30 years now, dating back to 1990.

So instead of saying that Ethan Salas has broken a record, we will say this. If Padres catcher Ethan Salas remains in the Top 10 when we unveil our preseason Top 100 Prospects rankings this offseason, he will become the youngest player we have ever ranked in the Top 10.

The current record holder is Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who was 17 and 10 months old when he ranked No. 4 on the 2019 Top 100 Prospects list. Salas will be 17 and seven months when the 2024 Top 100 Prospects rolls out.

Here’s a look at the 10 youngest Top 10 Prospects in Baseball America Top 100 Prospects history. Unless Salas advances to No. 1 by next January, Harper should remain as the youngest No. 1 prospect in BA history, because by 2025, Salas will be older than Harper. But if Salas ranks in the top 10 this and next year, he could rank on this top 10 youngest list twice, as he would be 17.7 years old in January 2024 and 18.7 years old in January 2025.

NameRankAge
Wander Franco417.9
Bryce Harper118.3
Delmon Young318.4
Justin Upton218.4
Julio Urias1018.5
Alex Rodriguez618.5
Ben Grieve1018.7
Andruw Jones118.8
Joe Mauer718.8
Felix Hernandez218.8

Here’s another way to look at it. Here is what our Top 100 Prospects list looked like when Salas was born on June 1, 2006. While almost all of these players are retired, Astros righthander Justin Verlander sat at No. 8 on the list. Now it seems conceivable that Verlander may still be pitching when Salas reaches the majors.

RankPlayerPositionOrg
1Delmon YoungOFTB
2Justin UptonSSARI
3Brandon WoodSSLAA
4Jeremy HermidaOFFLA
5Stephen DrewSSARI
6Francisco LirianoLHPMIN
7Chad BillingsleyRHPLAD
8Justin VerlanderRHPDET
9Lastings MilledgeOFNYM
10Matt CainRHPSF
11Prince Fielder1BMIL
12Howie Kendrick2BLAA
13Alex Gordon3BKC
14Andy Marte3BCLE
15Ryan Zimmerman3BWAS
16Ian Stewart3BCOL
17Conor Jackson1BARI
18Jarrod SaltalamacchiaCATL
19Andy LaRoche3BLAD
20Carlos QuentinOFARI
21Nick MarkakisOFBAL
22Jon LesterLHPBOS
23Chris YoungOFARI
24Bobby JenksRHPCWS
25Troy TulowitzkiSSCOL
26Joel GuzmanSS/3BLAD
27Felix PieOFCHC
28Daric Barton1BOAK
29Billy ButlerOFKC
30Hanley RamirezSSFLA
31Cameron MaybinOFDET
32Carlos GonzalezOFARI
33Jeff ClementCSEA
34Scott OlsenLHPFLA
35Joel ZumayaRHPDET
36Mike PelfreyRHPNYM
37Jonathan PapelbonRHPBOS
38Homer BaileyRHPCIN
39Phil HughesRHPNYY
40Anibal SanchezRHPFLA
41Anthony ReyesRHPSTL
42Russell MartinCLAD
43Neil WalkerCPIT
44Mark RogersRHPMIL
45Adam LoewenLHPBAL
46Erick AybarSSLAA
47Adam MillerRHPCLE
48Dustin McGowanRHPTOR
49Ryan Braun3BMIL
50Andrew McCutchenOFPIT
51Brian AndersonOFCWS
52Jason HirshRHPHOU
53Jeremy SowersLHPCLE
54Craig HansenRHPBOS
55Scott ElbertLHPLAD
56Edinson VolquezRHPTEX
57Jered WeaverRHPLAA
58Jason KubelOFMIN
59John DanksLHPTEX
60Jeff MathisCLAA
61Elvis AndrusSSATL
62Troy PattonLHPHOU
63Jonathan BroxtonRHPLAD
64Adam JonesOF/SSSEA
65Marcus SandersSS/2BSF
66Kenji JohjimaCSEA
67Dustin NippertRHPARI
68Cole HamelsLHPPHI
69Yusmeiro PetitRHPFLA
70Jeff NiemannRHPTB
71Brad SnyderOFCLE
72Thomas DiamondRHPTEX
73Gio GonzalezLHPPHI
74Javier HerreraOFOAK
75Matt Moses3BMIN
76Jay BruceOFCIN
77Dustin Pedroia2B/SSBOS
78Kendrys Morales1BLAA
79Jason HammelRHPTB
80Josh JohnsonRHPFLA
81Hayden PennRHPBAL
82Blake DeWitt3BLAD
83Cliff PenningtonSSOAK
84Justin Huber1BKC
85Mark PawelekLHPCHC
86Eric Duncan3B/1BNYY
87Ricky RomeroLHPTOR
88Cesar CarrilloRHPSD
89Andre EthierOFLAD
90Nick AdenhartRHPLAA
91Glen PerkinsLHPMIN
92Ryan SweeneyOFCWS
93Anthony LerewRHPATL
94Ronny CedenoSSCHC
95Tom GorzelannyLHPPIT
96Matt KempOFLAD
97Chris VolstadRHPFLA
98Chuck JamesLHPATL
99Nolan ReimoldOFBAL
100Anthony SwarzakRHPMIN

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