Marban's hot ABL start earns deal with Sox

Sometimes, even for pitchers, the best of moments can come out of left field.

Just two weeks ago, Perth Heat reliever Jorge Marban was focusing on curbing his walks while continuing to assert himself as one of the most reliable arms in the early going of the 2014-15 Australian Baseball League season. Now the former Rangers prospect has a second lease on his baseball life after agreeing to a deal with the Red Sox following three seasons in independent leagues across the U.S. and his first handful of games Down Under.

Marban first caught wind of the ABL while playing for Florence in the independent Frontier League last season. After asking his coaches if they had any connections in Australia -- they didn't -- he was the beneficiary of a late-season transaction that set his course for Perth. The 25-year-old was sent to Southern Maryland of the Atlantic League, and before he even threw a pitch for the club, his new pitching coach put him in touch with Heat manager Steve Fish.

Joining the ABL's reigning champions for the start of the league's fifth season, Marban made a name for himself quickly, not allowing a hit or run through his first five outings. All the while, his manager -- a part-time Boston scout -- was keeping a close eye on the righty.

"After my outing against Canberra [his fifth appearance of the season on November 20], Fish calls me the next day and tells me to show up to the field early," Marban said. "I show up early. I really don't know what's going on because it's not like we've talked about this previously. I'm just running through my head, like, if I've gotten in trouble somewhere or what could be going on.

"He calls me into his office and just said, 'Hey, the Red Sox want to have you play for them next year.' He put the contract out in front of me, and I was just at a loss for words."

The Canberra outing, during which Marban struck out three and walked one over two hitless innings, clinched the deal.

"I'd been struggling with my slider, and in that outing, I showed that I could throw my slider," he said. "[Fish] was like, 'That's all we really needed to see. We like your fastball. We like your split-finger, and now that we see that you can throw your slider, we want you.' I was pretty surprised."

Marban made 35 appearances for Class A Hickory during the 2011 season, his second in the Rangers organization, but found himself out of affiliated ball for the next three seasons, appearing in 122 games for Florence and Southern Maryland during that time.

"I've learned so much throughout those three years in independent ball and developed so much as a pitcher," he said. "That's all I really wanted was one more opportunity, at what I think is the best I've been in my career, to give it one more shot. If things work out, great. If they don't, it's something you can accept with yourself knowing that you were at your best and did what you could."

Through his first month in the ABL, Marban's numbers are among the best in the league. After his five straight scoreless appearances to start the season, the righty has allowed runs in two of his last three but still boasts a 1-0 record, a save and a 2.25 ERA. He's struck out 13 batters and limited opposing hitters to a paltry .081 average. Walks have been Marban's biggest issue with 10 in his 12 innings.

"I got off to a good start," he said. "I felt good out there. I wasn't really overthinking too much. My last few outings, I guess I've put some extra pressure on myself that I don't need. I've struggled a little bit. I've had a problem this year with my walks, but I was just coming out here trying to have fun, trying to get better throwing the ball over the plate. I've been successful doing so, so it's just going back to that mindset to continue and have a great rest of the season."

While the promise of Spring Training in Fort Myers awaits in February, Marban is ready to tend to the business of helping the Heat defend their Claxton Shield while thankful for the circumstances that have given him a long-awaited second chance.

"It is pretty crazy it took going halfway around the world to get an opportunity," he said. "At first when I was here, I was a little homesick because I hadn't been home for a while. I was honestly thinking about going home, but I talked to my family, and they told me to stick it out. Big things happened.

"Thank God I stayed."

In brief

'Stache swagger: Blue Jays import Jack Murphy and his legendary mustache were named the league's Round 5 Player of the Week. Murphy batted .667 (8-for-12) with a home run, double and four RBIs in three contests against Sydney, helping his Canberra Cavalry earn a series split with the Blue Sox. Murphy, who played 53 games for Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo last season, has gained a cult following in Canberra due to his signature facial hair and flair for the dramatic in his three ABL seasons. It marked his first weekly award of the 2014-15 campaign.

Back in blue: After making his Team Australia debut in the IBAF 21U World Cup in Taiwan last month, Twins prospect and Melbourne native Sam Gibbons returned to his hometown Aces in the ABL's Round 5. The 20-year-old right-hander earned a victory in his first start of the season on Sunday, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings while striking out six to beat Brisbane. Gibbons went 4-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 outings for Rookie-level Elizabethton last season.

Comeback trail: Former Rockies top prospect Chin-hui Tsao is attempting a comeback with the Adelaide Bite. Tsao, who came up in the Colorado organization and became the first Taiwanese pitcher in MLB history when he debuted on July 25, 2003, has not pitched in the Major Leagues since 2007 with the Dodgers or in the Minors since 2008 while in the Royals system. Tsao was embroiled in a game-fixing scandal in his native Taiwan in 2009 while pitching with the Brother Elephants of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. A report last week from The [Adelaide] Advertiser said the 33-year-old hit 95 miles per hour on radar guns in a recent showing for scouts that led to his signing with the Bite.