Jack Perkins is an interesting case study in that he has a wide range of realistic outcomes. In his maiden voyage with the A’s in 2025 Perkins saw time both in the bullpen and rotation…and the IL.
How Was He Acquired?
Perkins is just another example of how you can find big arms well after the 1st round. The A’s made Perkins their 5th round pick in 2022 but as he progressed he proved to have more like 1st round stuff and has moved up the ladder fairly quickly, debuting in the big leagues June 22nd, 2025.
What Were The Expectations?
With Perkins, 3 qualities stand out and define him. One is that he has electric stuff, with a 96 MPH fastball, wipeout slider, deceptive cutter, and an increasingly effective changeup. The second is that he hasn’t had great control, generally walking over 4 batters per 9 IP and running high pitch counts of 20+/inning. The third is that he has had a lot of trouble staying healthy.
So the expectations were that Perkins might flash dominant stuff, would probably be a bit wild/erratic along the way, and hopefully would stay on the mound. As they say, “2 out of 3 ain’t bad.” Perkins hit the IL 2 months after he was called up and was not seen again.
2025 Results
Initially pitching 3 innings out of the bullpen, Perkins was outstanding as a “bridge reliever” in increasingly high leverage and looked like a potential closer if the A’s wanted to go that route. Perkins made 3 starts before hitting the IL and was pretty solid, allowing either 2 or 3 ER each starts while going either 5 or 6 IP in each. That he got hurt after 3 starts, following a strong bullpen run, gives question to whether the load of starting is the issue with Perkins and whether his future might be as a plus reliever.
2026 Outlook
The A’s have made no indications around whether they see Perkins as a SP or RP in 2026 or beyond. Some of the decision could depend on who the A’s acquire in the off-season, but presumably it will mostly come down to where the A’s think he can be most successful, i.e., healthy.
As a SP Perkins has #2 SP upside due to his stuff with the caveat that he would need to take a step forward and limit walks to <3.5/9IP and pitch count to more like 15-18 per inning. That upside is probably what stops the A’s from being too quick to anoint Perkins the closer or a 2-3 IP “bridge reliever” — a #2 SP is just so valuable and the A’s have precious few candidates.
But the A’s also have a “help wanted” sign hanging in the closer’s seat and Perkins could potentially dominate in a closer’s role. And he’s no use as a “#2 SP who is on the IL” so the A’s need to decide what they think Perkins’ body can handle and act accordingly.
Should be interesting to see how this plays out in March-April. Given the information we currently have, where would you slot Perkins going into 2026? In the rotation to see how it goes? In the closer’s role? In a 2-3 IP “high leverage bridge reliever” role? Or something else? Do tell…
