If there’s one weakness within the San Diego Padres farm system, it’s the hot corner. If you ask a lot of San Diego fans, they may tell you it’s a weakness at the major league level, also. Using a combination of Cory Spangenberg and Christian Villanueva at third base has lead to a series of recent rumors connecting the Padres to third basemen such as Maikel Franco (please no) and Manny Machado (Padres paying him more than $300 million?).
Prospect evaluators, media members, bloggers, and fans have all been willing to push Fernando Tatis, Jr to the hot corner, however, it doesn’t appear as if the Padres are planning to pursue that route.