Perkins is the 179th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Waterloo Bucks infielder, Cameron Perkins, made his Major League debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Perkins is the 179th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Perkins, who played collegiately at Purdue University, played for the Waterloo Bucks in 2011. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 6th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
In 2011 with the Bucks, Perkins hit .344 with 10 home runs, 46 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.
Perkins started his Minor League career in 2012 with the Phillies Rookie Level team in the Gulf Coast League. After five games, he was promoted to the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. Between the two clubs he hit a combined .294 over 72 games and drove in 41 runs. He also had 23 doubles and stole five bases.
Perkins began the 2013 season back in the Gulf Coast League for two games before moving up to the Clearwater Threshers in the Hi-A Florida State League. He would play in 103 games in Clearwater and finish the season hitting .299 with 31 doubles, seven home runs, five triples and 54 RBI.
Another promotion to start the 2014 season had Perkins begin the year with the Reading Fightin Phils of the AA Eastern League. After 52 games in Reading he would move up to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the AAA International League. For the season, he hit a combined .271 with 28 doubles, five home runs and four triples. He also stole eight bases and drove in 51 runs.
Perkins would spend the entire 2015 season back in Reading. In 100 games, he hit .252 and once again drove in 51 runs. He had a career high 11 home runs to go along with 25 doubles and seven stolen bases.
The 2016 season for Perkins was spent in Lehigh Valley. In 117 games, he hit .292 with 20 doubles, eight home runs, four triples and a career high 11 stolen bases. He also had 47 RBI.
Prior to his call-up to Philadelphia, Perkins had played in 63 games in Lehigh Valley and was hitting .298 with six home runs, 17 doubles and one triple.
In his Major League debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, Perkins entered the game in the 10th inning as a pinch hitter for former Wisconsin Woodchuck and current Phillies reliever Pat Neshek. He would then fly out to center field for his only at-bat of the game.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.