Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans who they think will round out the 13 position players on Milwaukee’s roster come opening day.
As a reminder, here’s a quick run down who should make the roster.
With those 12 in mind, I left our fans with four options for the survey: Akil Baddoo, Tyler Black, Brandon Lockridge, and Blake Perkins. Here’s what the results showed:
It was a pretty solid four-way race, though Perkins prevailed with 40% of the vote. He was followed by Black (32%), Lockridge (17%), and Baddoo (11%). It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for a few reasons.
Firstly, Perkins is the most experienced Brewer. While Baddoo has more major league experience, Perkins has been in the fold for Milwaukee for the last three seasons, spanning 242 career games with a .232/.314/.339 lin to go with 13 homers, 82 RBIs, 107 runs, and 35 steals along with plus-plus defense. Lockridge and Black both have less than a full season of experience, and Baddoo has only appeared in 38 MLB games the last two seasons (and just seven in 2025).
Second, Perkins is easily the best defensive player of the group. While Lockridge and Baddoo can hold their own, Black is a below-average defender, and Milwaukee’s preference for solid defense is arguably greater than any other team in baseball. Perkins was an NL Gold Glove finalist in 2024 and probably could have been a finalist in 2023 and 2025 had he played enough games to qualify. All you need to see is him cutting Starling Marte (still one of the fastest players in baseball at 36) down at the plate in the ninth to beat the Mets last season.
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