The Daily Briefing — Wednesday, April 29
By Morgan Davis · Wed Apr 29 2026
Salas Heats Up Ethan Salas has found something. The Padres' No. 2 prospect stepped into the batter's box in the fourth inning Tuesday at Double-A San Antonio down 1-2 against Adam Serwinowski , took a high-and-middle fastball, and launched a three-run blast into right-center field that landed in the glove of a backup bullpen catcher. It was his third consecutive game going deep, part of a streak that has vaulted him into relevance as a prospect trending upward rather than coasting on pedigree. Salas is now slashing .305/.379/.525 this season after a slow start. The 19-year-old catcher has legit power, but he only had three doubles leading into the last three games. The power output is critical to Salas as he has shown very little of it in his pro career. In 480 plate appearances in 2024-25, Salas had only 4 HRs to his name. He was dealing with back issues last season and is seemingly healthy this year. Sometimes an injury can lead a player to make strength gains in their rehab. Salas looks noticably stronger in his his core, which shoud help him on both sides of the ball. On the defensive side, Salas caught 50 percent of would-be base stealers over a recent stretch and is handling his pitching staff well enough that scouts view him as a legitimate two-way force. He's caught 5-of-23 runners on the early season. Salas prospect stock faded a bit last season. If he continues this trajectory, he will be climbing back into our Top 100 soon. Quick Hits Emmanuel Rodriguez drilled a 118.3 mph line-drive homer for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday. The Twins' No. 5 prospect reached the 500-foot neighborhood and shows the rare combination of size, bat speed, and intent that scouts obsess over. Rodriguez now has five homers on the year and continues to flash the power stroke that makes him a legitimate prospect despite recent injury concerns. New Hampshire combined for a no-hitter Tuesday night, with Blue Jays prospects Jackson Wentworth , Nate Garkow , Irv Carter IV, and Kai Peterson blanking Binghamton 6-0 . Wentworth escaped a bases-loaded jam in his first outing, working 4-2/3 strong innings. It's the fifth no-hitter in Fisher Cats history since 2004, and while team achievements matter less in prospect evaluation, the fact that Wentworth was solid in a pressure situation on a nationally noted stage speaks to his composure. Ivan Johnson stole three bags for Louisville in the Bats' 5-1 win over Omaha, part of a game that featured five stolen bases and sharp, aggressive baserunning. Johnson is a 23-year-old infielder who was drafted in the 4th round out of Chipola. He's off to a good start hitting .304/.396/.630. Zyhir Hope crushed a two-run homer for Double-A Tulsa, his fourth of the young season. The Dodgers' No. 3 prospect continues a recent offensive surge and is settling into a rhythm that suggests he's closer to Los Angeles (or another team at the deadline) than many anticipated at the season's start. Leo De Vries went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Double-A Midland, continuing his hot stretch as the Athletics' No. 1 prospect. De Vries is one of the more consistent performers in the minors right now and continues to validate the internal confidence Oakland has invested in him. Mason McCoy went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs as El Paso demolished Albuquerque 16-2. Every member of the Chihuahuas' starting nine reached base in what was more demolition than baseball. McCoy now has a seven-game hit streak and is establishing himself as a productive run-producer at the Triple-A level, though the lopsided margin makes individual performances harder to contextualize. Stat of the Day Noelvi Marte extended his consecutive-game stolen base streak to six games on Tuesday, part of a seven-steal run over his last six games. That's the longest such streak for a Louisville player since Zack Cozart in 2010. Marte earned reigning International League Player of the Week honors and is flashing the tools that translate to major league value if the rest of his game—contact rates, zone discipline—improve. He's failed to establish himself at the Major League level after a productive 35 game run in 2023. On the Radar Winyer Chourio , the Padres' young left-hander at Low-A Lake Elsinore, spun 5 innings of one-hit ball Tuesday with eight strikeouts and just two walks. The 23-year-old Oklahoma product punched out a career-high eight in his performance and generated a 34.5 percent whiff rate. He has a 2.12 ERA through 17 innings.