Salas, Lesko right at home at High-A as roommates, batterymates
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When Ethan Salas and Dylan Lesko learned they were going to begin the 2024 season together at High-A, they quickly decided to room together.
One start into the season and that relationship between two of the top Padres prospects is already paying off.
With Salas (MLB's No. 8 overall prospect) behind the plate, Lesko (MLB No. 51) tossed four hitless innings as the Fort Wayne TinCaps one-hit the Great Lakes Loons in a 2-0 victory at Dow Diamond on Sunday afternoon.
Lesko, who walked three and struck out one, needed just 53 pitches to get through the outing. He credited Salas' gameplan of attacking early, which helped initiate a lot of weak contact and quick outs.
"It's good to have a relationship like that because if you trust your catcher, you know they have your best intentions," the 20-year-old right-hander said. "And pitch-calling-wise too, you know what he's going to put down, and he knows what I want. We're on the same page, and it's big."
Lesko and Salas, who singled, walked, stole a base, scored a run and threw out a would-be basestealer, made three starts together last year at Single-A Lake Elsinore. In that run, they combined to strike out 11 while allowing seven runs in eight innings, but the key has been building a deeper relationship off the field as well. The duo go to eat together and play video games. Lesko wants to take the 17-year-old phenom golfing soon. Between innings, they chat about any mistakes and how to prepare for the next frame.
There was evidence of how their bond manifests itself in games in the first inning. Down in the count, 2-0, with a runner on first base, Salas called for a slider -- a secondary pitch Lesko has been working on over the offseason to play off his fastball. The 2022 first-round pick dropped the pitch into the bottom of the zone and coaxed an inning-ending double play.
Moments like that exemplify Salas' impressive growth to TinCaps pitching coach Thomas Eshelman, who also was with the duo at Lake Elsinore last year.
"It's shocking, man," Eshelman said. "It doesn't scream 17-year-old, just his ability to take in information and be able to translate it into the game is truly wise beyond his years. His ability to understand that kind of stuff and … his ability to pitch to a scouting report and understand each guy is something that he's done a tremendous job with us. Obviously, our organization has done a lot of work with him, and his ability to use it in games and perform is really well done."
Lesko was pleased with his scoreless start, even if he has more things to iron out. The righty got eight whiffs on 20 swings, so more strikeouts are expected to be on the way, especially considering he racked up 52 K's in 33 innings between three levels in 2023.
Being another year removed from his April 2022 Tommy John surgery and growing more comfortable with a catcher he's likely to spend many more years continues to bolster his positive outlook.
"I’m feeling good, especially after this offseason, just having a full healthy one and getting to face some good hitters," Lesko said. "Just work out, just get back to my daily routine. The confidence is going up, how I'm feeling is going up. Everything is just getting better."