Padres prospect Harvey -- with help from Salas -- developing behind the plate in AFL

This was meant to be Ty Harvey’s first full season as a pro, emphasis on the full.

The Padres selected the catcher out of Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in the fifth round last year and signed him away from a Florida State commitment with a $1.5 million bonus, the second-highest in San Diego’s 2025 Draft class. However, Harvey missed roughly a month for Single-A Lake Elsinore between April and May due to an early hamstring injury, and 10 days after returning to the California League from that, he suffered a broken left hand on a swing by Visalia slugger Enyervert Perez on May 23 that forced him out for nearly another two months.

As it turns out, you don’t have to play in games to learn valuable lessons about what it takes to don the tools of ignorance and stand in the line of fire at the professional level.

“You gotta be a very passionate person to be a catcher,” Harvey said. “There's a lot on the table, and you gotta be able to love everybody and learn to know everybody.”

The Padres’ No. 4 prospect is now continuing that education and making up for the lost at-bats with Peoria in this year’s Arizona Fall League.

Given all that’s happened in the last 15 months, it’s important to remember why San Diego took Harvey in the first place -- you can never have too much catching depth in your organization. The Padres had made Ethan Salas, who by way of having a June 2006 birthday is only one month older than Harvey, the shining star of their system regardless of position since signing him as the game’s top international prospect in 2023, only to see the Venezuela native struggle offensively in 2024 and then be limited to 10 games last year by a back injury.

Harvey and Salas first crossed paths at the club’s Spring Training facility after the 2025 Draft, and despite being so close in age, the former became a sponge for the information the latter could provide on his early days in the system. One year later, Salas debuted in the Majors and became the youngest catcher in Major League postseason history when he suited up for the Friars this fall.

“He definitely taught me things like it sucks being in rehab, but you can't do anything about it, like you just gotta keep attacking it,” Harvey said. “Then, [there were] things like being aggressive, being yourself, trusting yourself and believing in yourself. So it's cool how I saw him from last year and now he's doing an amazing job in the big leagues. It's sick to see.”

Harvey has a ways to go developmentally before he can be in serious consideration for a catching tandem alongside Salas in San Diego. He hit just .171/.245/.285 with three homers and 42 strikeouts in 31 regular-season games with Lake Elsinore after his return from the hand injury, and he admitted at AFL Media Day that it took many game reps before he finally felt comfortable again at and behind the plate toward the end of the summer. He’s off to a slow start with Peoria too, going 1-for-17 with six walks and nine strikeouts through six games, but there was an encouraging sign in that his one hit came with a 104.7 mph exit velocity on Oct. 9.

It’s that power that many believe gives Harvey a promising long-term outlook in the first place. He garnered additional pre-Draft attention last year by maxing out with a 110.5 mph EV at the Combine in Arizona, and he’s continued to flash plus raw pop from the right side in multiple settings in ‘26. That includes when he homered in his first game of the postseason on Sept. 8 before eventually being behind the plate for all five of Lake Elsinore’s contests on the way to a California League championship last month.

Like Salas, it’s a playoff feeling he plans on getting used to as a Padres backstop.

“[That’s] finding ways to win a game,” Harvey said. “I think it first starts with togetherness, being a team. You gotta love everybody, learn to love everybody because that's going to be your team for however long. I think bringing everybody together is what makes the best teams ever.”

Padres hitters in the Fall League

Alex McCoy, OF (No. 26): Signed as a nondrafted free agent out of Hofstra in 2024, McCoy has established himself as the possessor of the best raw power in the San Diego system, and he’s backed that up already with Peoria with multiple batted balls above 110 mph, including a 110.6 mph, 420-foot homer during Opening Day on Oct. 3. McCoy hit .278/.355/.467 with 19 homers in 123 games across High-A and Double-A during the regular season, and the next steps will be keeping the strikeouts in check (26.2 percent K rate in 2026) and elevating more on contact (44.1 percent groundball rate). McCoy has experience in all three outfield spots, though he’s played only in the corners so far in the AFL, and even sprinkled in some time at first base over the summer.

Justin DeCriscio, UTIL: The 2025 10th-rounder out of NC State focused primarily on shortstop between Single-A, High-A and Double-A in his first full season but also saw time at five different positions, giving him the utility label at an early juncture in his career. Batting from the right side, DeCriscio posted solid contact rates at every stop to fuel his rise and finished with a .270/.358/.425 line, 13 homers and 22 steals over 121 games. He may project best as a hit-tool forward player who can fill multiple roles off the bench, and that’d be a solid outcome for a former senior sign who joined the organization for just $15,000.

Padres pitchers in the Fall League

Kannon Kemp, RHP (No. 13): The 2023 eighth-rounder is a repeat Fall Leaguer, having made six appearances for Peoria last year. He didn’t get his 2026 season going until June due to a left oblique injury and managed only 38 ⅔ innings (mostly at High-A) after that, making him a good candidate to be back in the desert. Kemp has allowed five earned runs over 4 ⅔ innings in his first two starts this fall but has fanned six, using both a four-seamer and sinker around 96-98 and a slider and changeup in the upper-80s.

Winyer Chourio, RHP (No. 15): Two years after he signed for $10,000 as a 20-year-old out of Venezuela, Chourio has headed to Peoria to build on a breakout 2026 season in which he had a 4.56 ERA with 122 strikeouts (most among San Diego farmhands) in 92 ⅔ innings across Single-A and High-A. He’s sat in the mid-90s with a four-seamer and sinker in the AFL and gotten right on top of batters with seven-plus feet of extension. He also works with an 85-87 mph changeup and earns his best grades for a 79-81 mph curveball with drop and sweep, but control is still a major focus after he walked six in an outing Wednesday.

Igor Gil, LHP: Gil is getting a Fall League look three years after signing for only $5,000 out of Venezuela in September 2023, in part because he struck out 29.6 percent of his batters faced over 53 ⅔ relief innings at High-A and Double-A this summer. He also walked 19 percent in ‘26 and hasn’t posted a walk rate below 16 percent in a year over his first three seasons in affiliated ball. The 5-foot-11 lefty has a mid-90s sinker but can run reverse splits with the way he generates whiffs by backfooting his upper-80s slider down and in to righties. He also has a 79-82 mph curveball with more drop and sweep.

Francis Peña, RHP: Peña first reached Triple-A El Paso in 2024 and looked poised to find a place in San Diego’s MLB bullpen soon afterward, only to remain in the Minors. He reverted back to Double-A for the entirety of the ‘26 season, where he posted a 3.05 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 36 walks over 59 innings. The 25-year-old righty generates a ton of groundball contact with his upper-90s sinker and low-90s cutter combination but could use a grade improvement of control if he’s going to be a 40-man or Rule 5 consideration this winter.

Jordan Valenzuela, RHP: The 21-year-old righty had the second-highest K rate (32.6 percent) and highest BB rate (20.5 percent) among the 62 Padres Minor Leaguers with at least 40 innings pitched this season. His marks came over 46 ⅔ frames in the Arizona Complex and California Leagues, so this move to the AFL is aggressive for such a volatile arm though it’s worth seeing how his swing-and-miss translates against better quality bats. Valenzuela has a four-seamer and sinker in the 94-97 mph range and a low-80s slider that runs away from the zone to his gloveside.