June's Defensive Player of the Month: Blake Perkins

The Brewers rank 4th in MLB in Defensive Runs Saved and a large part of their success this season has come from their rookies.

Joey Wiemer and Brice Turang have each impressed this season. Last month, a third player joined them, our selection for the SIS/Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Player of the Month for June, corner outfielder Blake Perkins.

Perkins led all players with 9 Defensive Runs Saved, 7 of those coming in right field. Perkins did it with a combination of his glove and his arm. He did this despite playing in only 20 games.

Perkins’ specialty is closing ground quickly. He ranks second in Statcast’s Jump metric for outfielders, which takes into account how much more ground an outfielder covers on average than his peers. He trails only Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier when it comes to how much more ground he covers from 1.6 to 3 seconds after the ball leaves the bat (known as “burst”). And his sprint speed ranks in the 98th percentile in MLB.

Because he gets good initial jumps and has good “bursts,” Perkins doesn’t have to leave his feet often. In fact, he made only one catch that required leaving his feet. His specialty is the sprinting catch, like this one he made against Corbin Carroll and this one against Amed Rosario. He also threw out a pair of baserunners in June. His overall arm strength  ranks in the 82nd percentile per Statcast.

Wiemer, Perkins, and others who have filled in have combined for 10 Runs Saved in right field. Only the Padres have more at that position.

Perkins joins April winner Ke'Bryan Hayes (Pirates 3B) and May co-winners Kiermaier and Austin Hays (Orioles LF) as recipients of the honor.

Others under consideration for the award were Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, who led all players at the position in Defensive Runs Saved for June, and Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who finished the month with 6 Runs Saved and who led all right fielders with 8 Good Fielding Plays.