How Blake Perkins Embodies the Subtle Genius of the Brewers Offense
Land in an athletic posture, opposing pitchers. Pinch your middle infield toward the bag. The Brewers–led by an unlikely player–are the best in baseball at sending the ball right back where it came from, to great success.
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Coming into the season, the depth charts at FanGraphs saw Blake Perkins as Milwaukee’s fifth option in center field, penciling him in for just seven plate appearances at the position and no more than a few games at the big-league level altogether.
It was understandable. After all, the team already featured defensive maven Joey Wiemer, and in December, they signed Jackson Chourio, MLB Pipeline’s second-ranked overall prospect, to an $82 million, eight-year contact with additional club options. Perkins, on the other hand, was coming off a 2023 season in which he ran an 88 wRC+ as a 27-year-old rookie after signing as a minor-league free agent.
Instead, Perkins broke camp with the big club and started in center on Opening Day. He’s now started in center more than 75 percent of the time, with Chourio, Christian Yelich, and Sal Frelick sharing time in the corners.
Not only that, but Perkins been one of the team’s biggest contributors this season, putting up 1.5 WARP, most among the team’s outfielders and fourth-most among their position players. According to Statcast’s Fielding Run Value, he’s saved seven runs for the Brewers, tied for eighth-most in all of baseball. According to FanGraphs, he’s been worth 2.3 runs on the bases, 21st in the league.
