O's farmhands help Perth advance to Australian League championship series

In November, eight Orioles prospects were on the championship team in the Arizona Fall League. In fact, several O's players came up big in the championship game as Surprise beat Mesa 2-0 for the title. Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with three shutout innings and the two runs were scored by Jonathan Schoop and Henry Urrutia, who doubled twice in the finale. Now some O's young players could be part of another league championship. They've helped Perth to the Australian Baseball League championship series, which begins tomorrow. The Perth Heat - a club the Orioles have an affiliation with - will host the Canberra Calvary on Friday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series. Infielder Tucker Nathans had a good season for Perth, batting .280 with three homers and 23 RBIs in 38 games, even though a knee injury will keep him out of the championship series. He is currently rehabbing in Florida and should be ready for spring training. Two pitchers on the O's farm have been a part of Perth's 32-14 first-place regular season record. Knuckleballer Zach Staniewicz went 1-0 with an ERA of 0.55 for Perth. Over 16 1/3 innings, he gave up just six hits. Kevin Grendell, the O's 11th-round pick in 2012, went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA over 21 2/3 innings for the Heat. Infielder Pita Rona, a player the O's signed in January 2012 out of New Zealand, went 2-for-22 in seven games early in the season for Perth. Two players on the O's farm last season also play for Perth. Outfielder George Barber, who is a minor league free agent and catcher Allan de San Miguel, who signed with the Rockies. Players can improve their games by playing in winter ball. Last year catcher, Michael Ohlman played for Perth, batting .317 with 15 doubles, one triple, six homers, 27 RBIs and an .899 OPS. That helped set the stage for his big season last summer with Single-A Frederick and he was added to the O's 40-man roster in November. While none of the players that played with Perth are on his level as a prospect, they all got some needed extra at-bats and innings, and they've helped Perth advance to within two wins of its third championship in four years.