New Marlins

Meet the six new players Miami acquired via the Marcell Ozuna trade and Thursday’s Rule 5 draft.

LAKE BUENA VISTA — The Marlins picked two right-handed pitchers in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday, taking low-risk moves for young arms with resumes that suggest they are not ready for the majors. However, they will get a shot to make Miami’s rotation, come spring training.

Elieser Hernandez, 22, comes to the Marlins from the Astros organization. Brett Graves, 24, was in the Athletics’ system.

“You can access talent in the Rule 5 draft that you normally can’t access any other way,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “To be able to acquire two young starting pitchers that we like — that we think have ceiling and that we think have major league futures — was valuable to us. We’re excited to have both in the fold.”

The Rule 5 draft presents clubs with an interesting proposition. Players who have spent three or four years (depending on when they signed) in the minors but who are not on their club’s 40-man roster can be plucked by another organization, for $100,000 apiece. Their new team must keep them on the active roster (or disabled list, with at least 90 days active) in 2018 in order to keep them.

So these players are not highly regarded enough as prospects to be protected by their original clubs. But another team thinks they’re at least worth a flier.

For the Marlins, Hernandez and Graves will both need to take significant leaps forward in order to stick.

Hernandez hasn’t pitched above High A. In 2017, after overcoming injury issues, he had a 3.98 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 15 games (11 starts) at that level. He also struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings while walking three per nine.

Hill said the Marlins like Hernandez’s three-pitch mix — including a fastball in the mid-90s — and clean delivery.

“Very good feel to pitch,” Hill said. “We like his ability to maintain his delivery and repeat and throw strikes.”

Graves has a career 5.00 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over four seasons, including a 5.97 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in seven games (six starts) in Double A last year. Hill said Graves has a well-above-average curveball that has one of the highest spin rates in all of the minors.

Miami’s rotation, meanwhile, has jobs to be won. Only Dan Straily and Jose Urena were mainstays in 2017. Wei-Yin Chen, Adam Conley, Justin Nicolino, Odrisamer Despaigne, Dillon Peters, Chris O’Grady and others are among the candidates to fill it out.

The Marlins also picked four players in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft: catcher B.J. Lopez (Diamondbacks), catcher Sharif Othman (Yankees), first baseman Will Allen III (Tigers) and right-hander Brandon Barker (Orioles).

Hill said the two catchers were selected because they rate well in modern catching metrics and can help the Marlins’ young pitchers develop. Othman, 28, was with the Marlins from 2011-16 before joining the Yankees for 2017.

The Marlins lost one player in the major league portion (righty reliever Tyler Kinley to the Twins) and one player in the minor league portion (left-hander Carlos Diaz to the A’s).

Hernandez

Graves