Marcus Semien News

Marcus Semien

30-Year-Old ShortstopSS

Toronto Blue Jays

2020 Stats

AVG

.223

RBI

2021 Projections

AVG

RBI

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2021 Fantasy Outlook

Coming off a monster 2019 season in which he cranked 33 homers, Semien fell back down to Earth in 2020, slashing .223/.305/.374 with seven long balls, 23 RBI and four stolen bases in 53 contests. While his power numbers were down considerably (not unexpectedly) during the shortened season, his .223 batting average was far more concerning, as it was his lowest mark since the 2014 campaign. It was also disappointing to see his K% rise to 21.2% after improving to 13.7% in 2019 during arguably the most successful season of his career at the dish. While there were several concerning stats to point out at the dish a season ago, he turned just 30 in September and could benefit from a move to a robust Toronto lineup. Semien will move to second base after signing a one-year, $18 million deal with the Blue Jays. With eligibility at shortstop, he'll provide someone who can hit for average, put on a display of power or flash his speed on any given day. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

#137

ADP

Overall

Dynasty

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'0"

Weight 195

DOB 9/17/1990

Born San Francisco, CA

College California

Drafted 6th Rd 2011 CWS

Joins Toronto on one-year deal

SSToronto Blue Jays

January 26, 2021

Semien agreed to a one-year, $18 million contract with the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

ANALYSIS
The 30-year-old was unable to secure a long-term deal this offseason, but he'll get $18 million this season before returning to free agency ahead of the 2022 campaign. Bo Bichette isn't going anywhere at shortstop for the Blue Jays, so Semien is expected to take over at second base, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Semien has exclusively played shortstop since 2015, but he did have some big-league experience at second base and third base across the two previous seasons. He largely struggled in 2020 with a .679 OPS in 53 games, but he posted an .891 OPS with 33 homers in 2019 and will look to recapture that form for Toronto.

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Batting Stats

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2020

2019

2018

2017

2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2018

+10%

OPS vs LHP

2020

+30%

OPS vs LHP

2019

+7%

OPS vs LHP

2018

+11%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2018vs Left	.841	476	73	18	54	4	.274	.353	.488
Since 2018vs Right	.763	1205	167	37	131	24	.260	.334	.429
2020vs Left	.835	51	10	4	10	1	.239	.314	.522
2020vs Right	.643	180	18	3	13	3	.219	.306	.338
2019vs Left	.933	203	31	7	22	0	.309	.394	.539
2019vs Right	.876	544	92	26	70	10	.276	.360	.516
2018vs Left	.758	222	32	7	22	3	.250	.324	.434
2018vs Right	.682	481	57	8	48	11	.257	.315	.367
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2018

Even Split

2020

+61%

OPS on Road

2019

+8%

OPS at Home

2018

+3%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2018Home	.783	826	123	23	77	16	.266	.353	.431
Since 2018Away	.786	855	117	32	108	12	.261	.327	.459
2020Home	.521	111	14	2	5	2	.180	.261	.260
2020Away	.841	120	14	5	18	2	.264	.350	.491
2019Home	.928	369	65	15	41	6	.292	.390	.538
2019Away	.857	378	58	18	51	4	.277	.349	.507
2018Home	.717	346	44	6	31	8	.266	.342	.375
2018Away	.694	357	45	9	39	6	.244	.295	.399
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Stat Review

How does Marcus Semien compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.

BB/K

0.50

BB Rate

10.6%

K Rate

21.2%

BABIP

.260

ISO

.152

AVG

.223

OBP

.305

SLG

.374

OPS

.679

wOBA

.304

Exit Velocity

81.7 mph

Hard Hit Rate

28.0%

Barrels/PA

5.1%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Semien enjoyed a monster year in 2019 for the resurgent Athletics. He has always strived to play every day, and he's done that the past two years with consecutive seasons of 700-plus plate appearances. Yes, the run production was a noticeable difference for him last year, but he changed his approach at the plate and greatly reduced his strikeout rate from the low 20s to 14% in just two seasons. Semien pushed his average exit velocity up by two miles per hour over 2018, but the launch angle did not change, so this big surge is a credit to his overall approach rather than any one change. Projecting a third season of 700-plus plate appearances would be very dangerous, and the 2019 season really stands out from the consistently average production Semien had from 2015-2018. The real Semien is in between those two stat lines. If you project another level for him, you're saying he's a top-10 player.

Want to win a bet? Ask, "What nine players have double-digit homers and steals each of the last four seasons?" Most would miss Semien. Granted, his totals lag behind the others, but there's something to be said for reliability and consistency in today's landscape. Semien is two years removed from 2016's 27 homers, rendering it a likely outlier. The rest of his skill set is stable, save for an improving contact rate. This bodes well for a batting average limited by a weak hard-hit rate, supported by Statcast's exit velocity and barrels data. One element of Semien's game that's improved greatly is defense. Once a major liability, Semien's range and throwing took a huge step forward this past season, ingraining him at shortstop for the foreseeable future. A winning fantasy roster is about balance. Semien doesn't excel in any particular category, but his reliability offers roster stability so you can take chances elsewhere.

After hitting 27 home runs and stealing 10 bases in 2016, Semien missed 74 games in the first half of 2017 after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured bone in his right wrist. He did his best to erase doubts about his power potential afterward, though, clubbing all 10 of his home runs from last season over the final 74 games. While it doesn't appear that he'll put together a helpful batting average anytime soon - too many strikeouts and flyballs - his walk rate has improved in each of the last two seasons while his strikeout rate has remained almost flat. He's also stolen 10-to-12 bases in his last three seasons, which helps offset his plate woes. Many will fear his cavernous home ballpark, but he doesn't have drastic splits over his career. His improved defense since his horrible 2015 should keep him in a starting spot for Oakland, or whomever they may trade him to. Power-speed combos in the middle infield rarely price themselves as cheap as Semien should be on draft day.

Investors in Semien for 2016 cashed in as he set career highs in plate appearances, home runs, RBI, runs scored and slugging percentage, while he reached double-digit stolen bases for the second straight year. Even his former hatchet-job defense has improved, which should lock him into the lineup, where he mostly hit toward the top down the stretch last year. His production dipped in the second half, but the 19 first-half home runs linger as a reminder of his upside. To reach the next level, the 26-year-old must show he can do anything in the batting average column, which on the back of his weak batting eye and flyball profile doesn't look like an immediate avenue for growth. Speculators are better off hoping he steals more bags if he continues to bat near the top of the order. For owners who can take the batting average hit, Semien will settle in as a midrange shortstop in mixed leagues who could repeat his returns from last year.

Semien, acquired by Oakland in the Jeff Samardzija trade, was slotted into the lineup as the everyday shortstop for the A's. He started the season hot, then struggled in June and July before righting the ship down the stretch. The final product of all those ups and down was useful especially when factoring in his eligibility at three infield positions. The big issue was the astounding numbers of errors he made at shortstop. Semien led all of baseball with 35 errors, eight more than anyone else at any position, but he improved a lot after the A's hired Ron Washington to tutor Semien at short. After a brutal 28 errors in 89 games before the All-Star break, he only made the seven the rest of the season. That second half may have saved Semien's role heading into 2016, and as a speed/power combo at a middle-infield position, his stock may rise steadily throughout the spring.

Expectations were fairly high for Semien entering the 2014 season after he get on base at over a .400 clip between Double-A and Triple-A in 2013. Unfortunately, he might have been rushed to the major leagues too early. Semien was the White Sox's Opening Day second baseman after Gordon Beckham got hurt and served in a utility role after Beckham returned. Semien struck out in 31 percent of his plate appearances, hardly walked and was back at Triple-A Charlotte by June 2. However, the A's saw something they liked and included him in a trade for Jeff Samardzija. In an ideal world, he plays regularly while posting doubles power and an above-average OBP. He'll get a chance to prove he can do that, as he's expected to compete for the starting shortstop job in Oakland.

Semien is the latest White Sox prospect to run the minor league gamut. He finished 2012 in virtual obscurity at High-A, but he found his way into 21 September contests for the big league club. Stellar plate discipline helped him make is way to the top (98:90 BB:K in 137 minor league games), but this skill faded a bit against better pitching (1:22 BB:K in his September audition). His struggles continued into the Arizona Fall League, and he likely needs a bit more seasoning before he is ready for a regular MLB role. Still, the White Sox's lack of depth at third base could force him into action at some point again in 2014.

More Fantasy News

Swats solo shot

SSOakland Athletics

October 7, 2020

Semien went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a single and a walk during Wednesday's win over the Astros in Game 3 of the ALDS.