Blake Perkins

Position: CF
Level: High A
Affiliate: Wilmington Blue Rocks
League: Carolina League
Born: 09/10/1996 (Age: 27)
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 165
B/T: Both / Right
Acquired: 2nd Rd., 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft (WSH); Traded to KCR 6/18/2018

Prospect Spotlight

A key prospect piece in the deal that brought RHP Kelvin Herrera to Washington, Perkins has established himself as an elite defensive outfield prospect. Offensively, he’s a tablesetting profile that’s looking to get on base and use his speed.

Perkins’ frame is lean and projectable, and he has added some strength as a pro.  He is a double-plus athlete with raw, projectable tools and routinely posts sub-4.10 second home-to-first times from the left side. A consistent stolen base threat with instincts and aggression, he has posted back-to-back 20+ stolen base seasons and will bring value as a baserunner. He’s a switch-hitter but a natural righty, showing more power and overall offensive polish from that side of the plate. Perkins won’t ever be a big power producer, but it’s notable that he’s at least showing more raw power in BP this season as he begins to fill out. Defensively, he was born to play center field, as he uses his speed, easy long strides, and natural instincts to cover a huge amount of grass.  He has an above-average arm with good accuracy and carry. He plays a big league center right now, and will immediately impact the game defensively upon being called up.

Perkins defensive ability will get him to the big leagues, but he’ll need to improve at the plate to get everyday at-bats. The best-case ceiling is a lesser everyday center fielder, though without offensive development Perkins profiles more as a defensive/baserunning specialist.