Blake Perkins Bio
Blake Alexander Perkins is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023 and has built his career through the farm systems of the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees. Known for his athleticism and speed on the basepaths, Perkins has progressed steadily from a second-round draft pick to a contributing major league outfielder.
Early Life and Background
Blake Alexander Perkins was born on September 10, 1996. He grew up in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona and attended Verrado High School in Buckeye, where he developed as a multi-sport athlete before concentrating on baseball. Coming out of high school, Perkins was regarded as one of the more promising prep outfielders in his draft class and committed to play college baseball at Arizona State University.
Rather than honor his college commitment, Perkins opted to begin his professional career immediately after the 2015 draft. He signed with the Washington Nationals for an $800,000 bonus, turning down the opportunity to suit up for the Arizona State Sun Devils. That decision launched a long climb through the minor leagues that has ultimately carried him to the major leagues.
Path to Baseball
Perkins’ entry into professional baseball came when the Washington Nationals selected him in the second round, with the 69th overall pick, of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. He reported to the Gulf Coast League Nationals for his first professional season, where he hit .211 with one home run and 12 RBI across 49 games. During his first offseason, the Nationals challenged him to develop into a switch hitter, even though he was a natural right-handed batter.
He spent most of 2016 with the Auburn Doubledays, slashing .233/.318/.281 with one home run, 16 RBI, and ten stolen bases in 59 games, while also appearing in seven games for the Hagerstown Suns. In 2017, Perkins served as Hagerstown’s starting center fielder and leadoff hitter, sharing an outfield with highly regarded Nationals prospects such as Juan Soto and Daniel Johnson. Entering 2018, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 11th-best prospect in the Washington Nationals system.
Blake Perkins Career
Early Career (2015–2018)
Perkins began his pro career in 2015 with the Gulf Coast League Nationals and worked his way through the lower levels of the Washington Nationals organization. After his 2017 campaign in Hagerstown, he started the 2018 season with the Potomac Nationals, where he batted .234 with one home run, 21 RBI, and 12 stolen bases in 65 games. That summer, on June 18, 2018, during the Carolina League All-Star Break, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals along with Kelvin Gutiérrez and Yohanse Morel in exchange for reliever Kelvin Herrera. He was assigned to the Wilmington Blue Rocks, where he played 64 games and batted .240 with two home runs, 18 RBI, and 17 stolen bases.
Kansas City Royals Development (2018–2021)
Perkins returned to the Wilmington Blue Rocks to open 2019 before being promoted in August to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Over 122 games between both affiliates, he hit .224/.330/.347 with eight home runs, 34 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. He did not appear in a game in 2020 after the minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Perkins spent the full season back with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, playing 72 games and slashing .202/.319/.332 with seven home runs, 30 RBI, and nine stolen bases. Across his time in the Royals system, he continued to refine his approach as a switch hitter and showcase his speed on the bases.
New York Yankees (2021–2022)
On December 16, 2021, Perkins signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees organization. After not seeing the offensive results he wanted as a switch hitter, he had initially decided to return to hitting right-handed full-time, but the Yankees asked him to reconsider and he entered the season committed to continuing to switch-hit. He appeared in 101 games split between the Double-A Somerset Patriots and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, hitting a cumulative .246/.357/.456 with 15 home runs, 50 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.
Milwaukee Brewers Era (2023–Present)
On November 23, 2022, Perkins signed a one-year, major league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and was optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to open the 2023 season. On April 19, 2023, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Garrett Mitchell suffered a shoulder injury. In 67 games for Milwaukee during his rookie campaign, Perkins batted .217/.325/.350 with four home runs, 20 RBI, and five stolen bases.
Perkins made 121 appearances for the Brewers during the 2024 season, slashing .240/.316/.332 while establishing career highs in home runs (six), RBI (43), and stolen bases (23). His growing role in Milwaukee reflected the trust the organization placed in his combination of defensive versatility and base-running ability.
Driving Style and Strengths
Perkins is valued for his speed, defensive range in the outfield, and plate discipline. His switch-hitting background, refined over several seasons, allows the Brewers to deploy him against a variety of pitchers. His stolen-base totals, including 23 in 2024, illustrate the kind of baserunning pressure he can apply when he reaches base.
Notable Events and Milestones
Perkins reached the major leagues for the first time on April 19, 2023, stepping in after Garrett Mitchell’s shoulder injury, and he recorded his first full MLB season in 2024, when he set new personal bests in home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. His selection as a second-round pick in 2015 also stands as one of the defining early milestones of his career.
Blake Perkins Career Highlights
Blake Perkins has compiled a versatile résumé across multiple organizations, reaching the majors in 2023 and steadily expanding his role with the Milwaukee Brewers. The sections below summarize the verified highlights of his professional career to date.
Major League Highlights
Perkins debuted in the majors with the Milwaukee Brewers in April 2023 and went on to appear in 67 games during his rookie season, batting .217 with four home runs, 20 RBI, and five stolen bases. In 2024, he played 121 games and posted a .240 average with six home runs, 43 RBI, and a career-best 23 stolen bases. His most recent verified MLB appearance came during the 2025 season following his activation from the injured list.
Minor League Performances
Across his time in the minors, Perkins produced multiple seasons with double-digit stolen-base totals and showed flashes of power, including 15 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in the Yankees system in 2022. He earned rankings as a top organizational prospect during his time with the Washington Nationals and advanced through three different farm systems before reaching Milwaukee.
Blake Perkins Family
Personal Life
Perkins is a Christian. He grew up in Buckeye, Arizona, and was a standout at Verrado High School before being drafted in 2015. Public details about his immediate family, marital status, or children are not widely documented.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season began in difficult fashion for Blake Perkins, who sustained a fractured shin on February 22, 2025, after fouling a ball off himself during batting practice. The injury was initially expected to keep him out three to four weeks, but the timetable grew longer and he was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 26, 2025. Perkins was finally activated for his 2025 season debut on July 13, 2025.
His return to the Milwaukee Brewers lineup gave the team another left-handed and right-handed hitting option in the outfield along with his usual speed on the bases. With his health finally restored in mid-July, Perkins had the opportunity to contribute to Milwaukee’s stretch run and to build on the career-best power and speed numbers he had posted in 2024.
Looking ahead, the outlook for the rest of 2025 depends largely on how quickly Perkins re-establishes timing at the plate and his comfort level on the bases after the long injury layoff. If he can return to the form he showed in 2024, he is positioned to remain an everyday contributor for the Brewers in the final months of the season.