Marcus Semien Has Turned a Corner
Apr 30, 2019, 9:39 AM | Updated: 9:40 am
(Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
(Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
In His Seventh Season In The Big Leagues, Semien Has Changed His Game
Growing up in the Bay Area, it has to be meaningful to throw on the Oakland Athletics’ green and gold for Marcus Semien.
Semien, who attended High School and College in nearby Berkeley, found himself back home in the Bay after the Chicago White Sox sent him to Oakland in a package deal for Jeff Samardzja after the 2014 season. Having only played 85 career games in the big leagues, Oakland GM Billy Beane and Co. liked what they saw in the then 23 year-old shortstop.
A career .274 hitter in the minors with home run pop, Oakland acquired Semien with hopes he could fully develop into a complete hitter while working on his fielding woes. In his first season in Oakland, Semien nearly doubled every offensive category with a full seasons worth of opportunity. His hits improved from 54 to 143, and home runs jumped from six to 15 as Semien showed he can hit Major League pitching. After a huge 2016 season that saw him hit 27 home runs and drive in 75 RBI’s, Semien fractured his wrist in 2017 as he missed half of the season. With 15 home runs and 70 RBI’s in 2018, Semien rebounded as Oakland clinched their first playoff berth since 2014.
While his home run and RBI totals would climb over the years, his batting average would hover in the .240-.250 range. Over his first four seasons in Oakland, Semien hit .250 and averaged 17 home runs a season.
Which brings us to his incredible start to 2019.
Over his first 31 games, Semien has showed new sides to his game as he ranks 18th in all of baseball with a .322 batting average. The .322 batting average mark is fifth among all Major League shortstops, and his 38 hits on the season place him fifth in all of baseball (second among all shortstops). Semien leads his team in batting average, hits, On Base Percentage (.400) and doubles (8).
Of course, 31 games is a small sample size. But with 135 at bats under his belt, it is becoming clear that Marcus Semien is turning a corner. And it’s not just in the batters box, either.
After leading the league in assists in 2016 and 2018, Semien seems to be a ground-ball magnet in the field. In his three full seasons with the Athletics, Semien has averaged 25.3 errors per season, which has placed him first or second in the league in errors among shortstops for each of those years. So far in 2019? One error. Just one. In 111 chances over 31 games in 2019, Semien has only committed one mishap, well below his average of one error per 29.4 chances.
While his fielding has improved, so has his batters eye. After striking out at least 130 times in each of his first three full seasons in Oakland, Semien has become more selective. Holding a 20.7% strike out rate, Semien has knocked that number down to 14.4% as he is clearly seeing the baseball better than ever. This is also clear in Semien’s plate discipline as he is on pace for a career-high in walks in 2019. After drawing 61 base on balls in 2018, Semien is currently on pace to walk more than 80 times this season. The Athletics have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from their shortstop on both sides of the ball, as Semien has improved in nearly every category, while keeping his power (on pace for 20 home runs) and contact (on pace for over 150 hits).
2019 is shaping up to be a huge year for Marcus Semien, and with only one more arbitration year until he hits free agency as a 30 year-old, expect this version of Semien to stick around.
It looks like he’s finally feeling like he’s back home.
