FanPost

Who will be the Padres' starting second baseman in 2018?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Although our beloved Padres have their share of holes out there on the diamond, one position in particular seems like it is shaping up to have plenty of potential suitors for the starting job in 2018. Because of Asuaje's recent success and the fact that Solarte's injury makes it more likely than not that he will stay put at the deadline this year, I felt like now would be an appropriate time to ask the question of who ends up starting at second for the friars in 2018.

Here's my rundown of the five main candidates and some thoughts on them:

Yangervis Solarte

This year's starting second baseman has often been the subject of potential trade talk and with good reason. Although Solarte is a fan favorite, I'm sure the team has considered moving him as his bat plays well enough for a contender to think of him as a potential upgrade. He's flexible enough to play second or third and while his .268/.349/.425 slash line isn't eye popping, its a solid offensive output. Solarte may be slow, but he's not a terrible defender and normally gets average to just below average reviews. He's affordable and potentially controllable through 2020 via two team options which would cost 5.5M in 2019 and 8M in 2020

Cory Spangenberg

Although Spangenberg has currently set up shop at the hot corner, his natural position is at second. Defensively Spangenberg has done about a league average job at third, which is more than can be said for his predecessor Schimpf who received poor ratings for his fielding. However the main issue with Spangenberg at third is that his bat doesn't really play there. His .723 OPS is good for 26th in league among third baseman with more than 200 plate appearances. Spangenberg lacks the power production one would like to see at third, and if his bats going to play anywhere, its going to be at second. While he ultimately may be destined for a utility role, he could conceivably be a decent starting option at second should the Padres need him there. The former first rounder is only 26 and is controllable until 2020 through arbitration.

Carlos Asuaje

One of the prizes of the Craig Kimbrel trade, Asuaje received his first opportunity to start for the Padres in the wake of Solarte's oblique strain. Although he had been having a rough go of it in El Paso this year, slashing just .250/.369/.379, in the limited time he's received at second for the Padres he's managed a very respectable .319/.360/.426. While Asuaje has limited power potential and isn't a true burner on the base paths, he does a great job of hitting for average. In the small sample size his defense at second seems to be above average as well. While I originally thought of him as a future bench/role player for the Padres, I've really enjoyed watching the way he plays over the past few weeks and if he can continue to hit and get on base he may work his way into the starting lineup on a more permanent basis.

Jose Pirela

As this years big surprise, Pirela has unexpectedly turned heads for the Padres with his bat. The utlityman has seen the majority of his time in left field but he's played second and third in the minors as well. There is some question as to whether the 27 year old Pirela can sustain this performance, but his .826 OPS is currently the best on the team out of players with more than 150 at bats. It should be noted that Pirela's ability to hit didn't come out of nowhere. He had an impressive 2015 with the Yankee's AAA affiliate and this year in El Paso he was absolutely mashing before his call up. Keeping those numbers up in the bigs might be hard, but even with some regression Pirela's bat could be solid at 2B.

Luis Urias

Arguably the Padres best position player prospect (maybe its Tatis at this point, but thats another fan post in itself) Urias has been on fire in AA San Antonio this season. Although he just turned 20 and is one of the younger players in AA, his .318/.415/.407 slash line is no joke. Some scouts have given his hit tool a coveted 70 grade, and he recently clocked in as Baseball America's 37th best prospect in a midseason update. Hopefully Urias is the second coming of Mark Lorreta, but he is still just a prospect at this point. Urias has split time between short and second this year, but he's generally viewed long term as more of a second baseman. The main question with him is since he's so young will he be ready to make the jump to the bigs in 2018. Although most see him as the organization's future at second base, we may need to wait until 2019 or the tail end of 2018 before he makes his presence felt.

Personally I think Solarte will be moved this off-season or end up playing third again and Asuaje will hold down the starting job until Urias is ready in 2019, but really its anyone's guess as to what the team does. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts in the comments.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.