Catching Up With: Cameron Perkins

As the 2016 minor league spring schedule dawned on a Tuesday morning, Cameron Perkins was no longer ranked in the Philadelphia Phillies top-30 prospects, according to Baseball America and MLB.com.

Yet it is far too soon for the 25-year old to be forgotten.

The former sixth-round draft pick out of Purdue University is coming off an All-Star season for the Reading Fightin Phils, in which he finished with a solid .252 average, a career-high 11 home runs, and ranked second in the Eastern League with 15 outfield assists.

Perkins' power numbers improved in 2015 with an alteration to his swing. Similar to the change that kicked off Brock Stassi's breakout campaign last season, Perkins added a leg kick - a big mechanical adjustment for a hitter to make mid-season, but one that has enabled him to better drive the ball.

It was three years ago that Perkins made the jump from short-season ball all the way to the Florida State League, where he emerged as one of the Threshers' top offensive threats. He hit .295 that year and drove in 53 runs, second only to Aaron Altherr.

Entering the next year as the Phillies' No. 12 prospect, Perkins caught fire offensively. He hit .382 in the opening month for the Fightin Phils, and quickly rose to AAA Lehigh Valley after batting .342 through the first two months. When the results did not translate up to the next level, Perkins was again assigned to Reading to start 2015, and would remain there for the duration of the summer.

A second season in Double A was more of a stepping stone than it was a roadblock in the outfielder's development.

"It was a lot of fun, I'd say it was probably one of the most fun seasons I've had in my career," Perkins says.

"We were on a team that, showing up, everyone was trying to win. No one was about themselves, and I think that showed in our numbers. I mean we went up there, tried to move runners, and played the game of baseball like the way it should be played. When everyone's doing their job and you're winning a lot of games, it's a lot more fun than when everyone's playing for themselves."

Perkins helped lead the Fightin Phils squad to an 80-61 record and an appearance in the Eastern League Championship last September. He hit .278 (5-for-18) with a home run in the Championship series, but Reading landed just short of the title in a best-of-five set against the Bowie Baysox.

Perkins recognizes the benefits of building a winning atmosphere while progressing through the minor leagues.

"I think it's very important," Perkins says. "I compare it to college because, in college when you're playing, all that matters is winning, and at the end of the day that's how I like to play the game, that's how I like my team to play the game."

While some minor leaguers may have a tendency to embark on their respective careers with a focus on their individual stats, Perkins believes that what made Reading successful was the team-first mentality.

"I think once players start to mature, and they start to get older and they start to play this game more, they learn that learning to win is a big part of becoming a professional baseball player.

"Just the way our team went about everything - from practice to BP, to just playing the game - it was played how it was supposed to played, and that's why we were so good."

Perkins embodies that very perspective, which he's displayed throughout his career - from Purdue to the GCL and New York-Penn League in 2012, to the highest ranks of the Phillies farm system.

"I feel like I'm still that same player, like I just want to do whatever I can do to help my team win," Perkins says. "Maybe that's driving in three runs, maybe that's laying down a sac bunt, maybe that's cutting a ball off in the gap and keeping the runner at first.

"You're not always going to have a great day at the plate, that's just how this game goes, but there's always a way you can help your team win. That may be hitting a cutoff man, something as small as that. And I think that's a good way to approach this game, and that's how I've always approached it."

Individually, Perkins hopes to improve his running game in the coming year.

"If I was focused on one thing, I'd definitely like to steal some more bases," he says. "If I can pick my moments and the right opportunities and the right situations, I think I can get more of those."

The young outfielder has quietly worked to become a more well-rounded threat, and feels as if he is at his best as an overall baseball player entering 2016.

Don't be surprised if the numbers back him up.