The Rule 5 draft is in just a few hours, as the winter meetings come to a close. The San Diego Padres will pick third, giving them an opportunity to secure a solid prospect who can be immediately influential at the major league level.
With currently the smallest roster in baseball, the Padres have seven spots to fill. This underscores the need to have a successful Rule 5 draft, as difficult as that may be.
A draft like this is extremely unpredictable. General manager A.J. Preller and his staff have most certainly done loads of advanced scouting on all of their potential options.