Expectations are that De Vries and Salas, both just 18, are a year away from major leagues
For about twice as long as they have been a playoff contender, the Padres have been prospect producers. Name after name has enticed visions of future stardom.
“I don’t control that,” De Vries said one recent morning, a couple hours before he and Salas played an AFL game as members of the Peoria Javelinas. “I just come out here and play and have fun, and then San Diego will make the decision when I need to be there.”De Vries and Salas play for an organization that has demonstrated it is willing to take its cues from players, with relatively few limitations placed on how fast they might be promoted through the system.
The club believes both can produce at a high level while playing two of the most important positions on the field. But the numbers so far are what the numbers are, and minor-league numbers don’t add up to tell much of a story. Through Friday, Salas was batting .283 with an .838 OPS in 15 AFL games . In a league where the average age of position players is 22 and most of those players have been identified as on a major league track, Salas is thriving. One thought within the organization is that he rises to the challenge of competition.
Merrill, who just finished a rookie season in which he was arguably the Padres’ most valuable player, hit .261 with a .669 OPS in the AFL in 2022.“There are a lot of veteran players and a lot of players with a lot of talents,” De Vries said through interpreter Juan Peña. “I definitely think that I can learn from them, and hopefully that helps my game.”
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