GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Ghost Peppers have signed former Padres farmhand Ethan Skender to a 2025 contract, announced by general manager Brady Salisbury on Friday.
Skender, 28, was drafted by San Diego in 2016. He played for the Padres organization until 2022, reaching as high as Double-A San Antonio.
The Metamora, Illinois native played in the Frontier League in each of the past two seasons.
With Evansville in 2023, Skender hit .263 with a .768 OPS and stole 22 bases in 83 games.
Skender spent the 2024 season with Lake Erie, swiping 17 bags in 39 games and posting a .702 OPS.
Coming off a season where Gastonia led the South Division with 265 stolen bases, the Peppers added a speedster in Skender.
Skender is listed as a utility player whose primary positions are second and third base. He joins Jake Hoover and Alan Alonso as versatile utility players who have signed with the Ghost Peppers for the 2025 season. Including RHP Jimmie Sherfy, Skender is the fifth player signing announced by Gastonia this offseason.
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The Ghost Peppers open the 2025 season on Friday, April 25 against the York Revolution. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Single game tickets are currently on sale. Contact the Ghost Peppers office at 980-415-2255, or visit www.ghostpeppersbaseball.com for more information.
Gastonia Ghost Peppers concluded its first season of operations with Zawyer Sports & Entertainment – a sports ownership group with professional teams operating in the U.S. and the fourth season for the franchise at CaroMont Health Park in the FUSE District of Gastonia. The Ghost Peppers had a historic inaugural season, leading the Atlantic League with 83 wins and 201 home runs. Gastonia went 46-17 in the first half of the season, which is the highest winning percentage (.730) in a single half in league history. The club became the first organization with multiple 200+ home run seasons and set the league record for highest win percentage in a three-year span (.651 from 2022-2024).