Feb 22, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Braulio Lara (51) poses for a picture during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Marlins picked Lara in the first round of the MLB’s Rule 5 draft from the Rays organization. Lara made four apperances for the Marlins this spring, posting a 4.50 ERA. Lara struck out and walked two hitters in his five innings of work.

He was already considered a long shot to make the team when camp opened. He did not overly impress the Marlins with his performance, as his command was still a major issue.

The cost for each Rule 5 pick is $50,000. The guidelines of the Rule 5 Draft mandate that the player must be on the Marlins’ active roster. If either one is not, he will then be offered back to his original team for $25,000.

Lara served primarily as a starter in the Rays lower minor leagues the past two seasons. Starting was not looking good for him however, as he struggled with a 4.94 and 5.70 ERA in the last two years

Lara was projected to be a top-5 pick in the Rul3 5 draft, somehow fell to the Marlins with their second pick.

The Marlins first pick in the Rule 5 draft, Alfredo Silverio is still with the team. He is expected to start the season on the DL and could make an impact, if healthy later on in the season.

The elbow sprain is the latest setback for Silverio in what has been a very disappointing past 14 months. In January 2012, he was involved in a serious car accident, which caused him to miss all of last year. As a result of the wreck, Silverio had Tommy John surgery performed on his right elbow.

This is what Mike Redmond has to say on Silverio’s injury:

“He will be out for a while,” manager Mike Redmond said. “He felt something long-tossing. We shut him down. We don’t have a time frame on that.”

“It’s disappointing,” Redmond said. “He was doing so well. It looked like he was feeling good. Those things are touchy.”

Silverio, early on, has shown flashes of his potential that caused him to be ranked as one of the top prospects in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. While being limited to DH so far, Silverio was 3-for-12 with a home run. The Marlins were impressed with his bat before he was shutdown.

Feb 23, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Miami Marlins designated hitter Alfredo Silverio (56) hits a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

John Sickels ranked Silverio as the Dodgers fifth best prospect before the 2012 season.

Silverio’s car accident caused him to miss the entire 2012 season, and he was then selected by the Miami Marlins in the Rule 5 draft. Sickels ranked Silverio as the Marlins 14th best prospect, even after the uncertainty about his career that followed after his injuries.

I have Silverio ranked as the Marlins 15th best prospect.

Hopefully Silverio can make a comeback from his latest setback and revive his promising career.

Whether issues should be addressed based off limited pre-season innings is debatable. But the Miami Marlins do have a couple situations to keep an eye on during Grapefruit League play.

Whats *this* guy good for? Hopefully, the fifth starting spot.
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Fifth Spot

One of the standard problems to solve for each team each spring is, “Whats this pitcher good for?” and the 2013 Marlins are no different. The fifth starting spot is up for grabs between fringe guys such as Wade LeBlanc, Brad Hand, and Tom Koehler.

It’s a shame that a decision may be based on whether one of the three blows up during a February or March outing, especially since the best pitcher of the three is perhaps Koehler who is alarmingly prone to home runs.

For these three, the surest prediction is that they’ll all see time in AAA-New Orleans and the majors.

Center Field

This competition is more likely for the backup center field position. Ruggiano is the clear front-runner to start April 1^st in Washington, while a slew of players need to prove they deserve a spot on the bench. Based on experience, Gorkys Hernandez may be the favorite to win the backup role over Chris Coghlan, Bryan Petersen. An interesting name in the competition is Rule-5 draft pick Alfredo Silverio, has a shot at sticking on the roster when he gets healthy enough to play defense. For now, he’s starting spring games at DH.

Another wild card in the competition is top prospect Christian Yelich. While the Marlins are in no position to rush any prospects, his very strong case to make the team is outlined here on MM.

Chone Figgins vs. Everyone

I imagine Figgins walked into camp with a rolling suitcase of six gloves, catcher’s gear, his own rosin bag and a boom box ghetto blasting the chorus to “Centerfield” on repeat. Figgins’ best asset to make a roster is his (alleged) flexibility. He’s a long shot to play in the outfield with a crowded center field competition and fan favorites in the corners. The thin Marlins infield would welcome a backup guy, but for now, Figgins is hitless in spring training with two fielding errors.

So while the Marlins spring training record shouldn’t get you change your attitude on the team, there are a few reasons to be watching. Who’s the fifth starter? Who’s the best backup center fielder? Will Figgins get a hit?

Starting from today’s game, Marlin Maniac will have a recap for each game. Was debating if it was worth it to do a recap for the Marlins spring training games, but with so many good competitions going on during the Marlins camp, it will be worth it to monitor certain players that could make an impact for the Marlins in 2013.

Recap: Marlins 8, Cardinals 3:

Giancarlo Stanton proved to be superman, returning to game action right away just three days after taking a ball to his head, from Marlins prospect Jose Fernandez. In his return, Stanton went 1-for-3, driving in two runs with an RBI groundout in the first inning and an RBI single in the fourth inning. The Marlins were able to jump out to an early 4-1 lead.

Juan Pierre also contributed big time, as his lead-off triple set the table for Stanton to drive him in on an RBI groundout. Pierre also was able to push a bunt past the Cardinals third baseman, David Freese, in the third inning, to drive in shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Pierre did not record an out on Saturday for the Marlins, a promising start to his second stint with the Marlins.

The brightest spot for the Marlins on Saturday came from an unlikely source. Alfredo Silverio, the Marlins Rule 5 draft pick, went 1-for-4 with a solo home run. Silverio, whom I ranked as the Marlins 15th best prospect, is coming off missing the entirety of the 2012 season due to a major car accident, is competing to make the Marlins final 25-man roster, or he will be offered back to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alfredo Silverio showed off his power on Saturday against the Cardinals. Silverio is trying to make the Marlins team out of Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

On the pitching side, the Marlins had John Maine starting. Maine, who is competing for the 5th spot in the Marlins rotation, had mixed results in his first start. Maine lasted two innings and allowed a single run, a home run to Freese. Maine also struck out a batter and walked one as well.

Seven other pitchers pitched for the Marlins, to mixed results as well. The Marlins bullpen collectively struck out four hitters versus seven walks. The main culprit for the walks was prospect Brad Hand. Hand who has struggled with walks in the past, continued to show his control is something that needs a lot of work. While he will stay in the 5th starter competition, Hand cannot afford too many more outings like this one.

The Marlins also suffered a major blow with the loss of Jeff Mathis. Mathis was removed from the game after taking a foul-tip to the chest from Matt Holliday. Jeff was expected to be the Marlins backup catcher to starter John Brantly.

With Mathis being out for six weeks, former Marlins first round pick, Kyle Skipworth, has a decent shot to make the team as the backup catcher. Skipworth has been seen as a major bust by Marlins fans, as he has not hit as much as he was expected to in the minors.

There is also a chance that the Marlins make a trade for or sign another catcher for a shot to make the Marlins team, over the aforementioned Skipworth.

Recap: Marlins, Nationals Tie at 2:

Not much to mention in terms of excitement in this game. The game featured a 66-minute rain delay in the fourth inning.

The main highlight in the game for the Marlins had to be Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez pitched an impressive two innings, striking out two batters and only allowing one hit along the way. Alvarez also did not walk any hitters, thus allowing only one base runner in his two innings.

Alvarez’s key for the game was locating 19 of his 22 pitches for strikes. He was able to do what most pitchers want to do, locate his pitches and get ahead in counts, to avoid hitters counts.

Ryan Webb struggled in his first game, allowing a two-run home run to Anthony Rendon, which gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead late in the game.

Evan Reed pitched an impressive game for the Fish, striking out three hitters over his two innings of work. With more performances like this one, Reed can earn himself a role in the Marlins bullpen.

On the hitting side, the Marlins scored runs on a Chris Coghlan ground out in the third and tied the game at two on a Jake Jefferies ground out in the top half of the night. All together, there were just 15 hits over the 10 innings, so not much hitting for either team.

The Marlins will take on the Atlanta Braves later today. Wade LeBlanc will be going up against Kris Medlen. Marlins players making the trip will include: Giancarlo Stanton, Donovan Solano, Adeiny Hechavarria, Kyle Skipworth, Chris Coghlan, Zack Cox, and Joe Mahoney.

The 15 players I had ranked above them are here, either because they are close to the majors, in the majors, or have strong star potential.  The first guy we will be looking at, will be former Dodgers prospect, Alfredo Silverio. The Miami Marlins selected outfielder, Alfredo Silverio, from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization this past December during the Rule 5 draft, which took place during the Winter Meetings. Marlins fans best remember the Rule 5 draft from when the Marlins were able to steal all-star second baseman Dan Uggla from the Diamondbacks for a mere $50,000.

Alfredo Silverio has a chance to make a great comeback if he can remain healthy and latch on with the Marlins. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

In Double A Chattanooga in 2011, Silverio hit .306/.340/.542 with 42 doubles, 18 triples, and 16 home runs. He was also invited to play in the Futures Game last July at Chase Field, where he hit a home run.

Coming off of his monster season, Alfredo was seen as the Dodgers fifth best prospect in the Dodgers organization before the 2012 season, by John Sickels, of SB Nation’s Minor League Ball. This is what John had to say about Silverio:

5) Alfredo Silverio, OF, Grade B-, borderline B: It took him a long time to develop skills to make his tools meaningful, and he still has issues with the strike zone and using his speed on the bases, but progress has been real and he’s the best position prospect in the system. Should put up huge numbers in Albuquerque even if his underlying skills don’t improve.

Silverio was likely to see some time in the major leagues during the 2012 season, especially with Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp struggling with injuries throughout the season.

Unfortunately for Silverio, he was struck with some really bad luck. He was involved in a significant car accident in the Dominican Republic on January 23. Silverio lost control of his car in the and glanced off a concrete wall and rolled several times.

“We thought … that it was a reasonable risk to bring him in,” Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. “We really like him in center field. If he’s not completely healthy, we understand that as well.”