The Arizona Fall League is built for hype. It’s where prospects stack at-bats, headlines, and confidence before the offseason really settles in.
And that’s exactly why the Padres doing the opposite with Ethan Salas matters.
Salas skipping the AFL isn’t the organization being timid, it’s the organization being serious. The Padres have zero interest in winning the Fall League scoreboard if it risks losing more months (or years) of development time for a 19-year-old catcher who’s still very much part of the long-term plan.
Catching prospects already live on hard mode with the physical toll and the daily grind.