Alex Balog continues his Australian dominance as other Rockies farmhands take on winter ball

With the conclusion of the Arizona Fall League, our focus shifts down under to the Australian Baseball League, where four Rockies (Alex Balog, Correlle Prime, Robbie Perkins and Michael Benjamin) are playing their winter ball this offseason.

Balog is the having the most impressive season of the four, and put up what is arguably his best start of the year this week. Against the Brisbane Bandits, he went eight innings, allowed just three hits, no runs, one walk and struck out ten hitters. He is now 4-1 on the year with a 0.83 earned run average, having given up just three earned runs while whiffing 33 batters in 32⅔ innings pitched across six starts for the Sydney Blue Sox.

Leading the way for Rockies position players represented in Australia, Prime had another strong weekend, going 7-for-18 in a four game set against the Melbourne Aces. He is hitting .272/.309/.733 with 7 runs batted in through 24 games. Prime should be happy to see November in his rear-view mirror, too, after hitting only .242 for the month.

Prime's teammate Michael Benjamin continues to have a more difficult time in the Southern Hemisphere, as he was just 3-for-16 this weekend. He is hitting .214/.292/.333 through 24 games with Perth. Finally, Australia native Robbie Perkins continues to fight back from his rough October; to his credit, he hit .293 in the month of November despite a rough final weekend which saw him go 0-for-6. Overall, though, he's still just hitting .200/.325/.215 through 22 games for Canberra. His on base percentage is impressive, all things considered, and he has just one fewer walk (12) than he has hits (13).

In the Caribbean, there are 14 Rockies in action, not all of whom will be covered here. Antonio Senzatela is pitching in Liga Venezuela de Beisbol (Venezuelan Baseball League) for Navegantes de Magellanes, who are 24-18 and in first place overall in the league, and are currently 7-3 and in third in the season's second half standings. Senzatela has pitched 12⅓ innings across three starts without recording a decision, logging a 4.38 earned run average with just five strikeouts. Opponents are batting .327 against him in the limited action, and he has allowed 17 hits.

Cristhian Adames is playing in Liga de Beisbol Dominicano (Dominican League) for Toros del Este, a club sitting at 16-18 and five games back in their league. In 18 games, Adames is hitting .247/.276/.288 with seven RBI.

Adames is joined on the Toros del Este by Rudy Owens, who made a big league start in 2014 for the Astros and was in Triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies' system in 2015. Owens is a key starter for the Toros del Este, with seven starts to his name thus far this winter. He's fared well, going 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 34⅓ innings pitched, with 14 free passes against him matched up against 22 strikeouts.

A member of the 2015 Asheville Tourists, pitcher Helmis Rodriguez, is playing for Tiburones de La Guaria in Liga Venezuela, but the youngster has not pitched all that much, appearing in only two games and throwing 2⅔ innings in relief. The young lefty has given up a hit and an earned run in his time on the mound, good for a 3.38 ERA.

Javier Palacios, another Rockies farmhand and a teammate of Rodriguez's this winter with Tiburones, has thrown only 1⅔ innings in two games. He has given up four hits and a run, giving him an inflated ERA of 5.42.

Stick around all winter as we check in with notable Rockies prospects and minor leaguers playing around the world.