Marcus Semien is the prospect of entering the 2013 season, but he is far from a high-profile player. That year American Baseball Prospects Manual Published, ranked 14th in the University of California-Berkeley’s sixth round pick in 2011 and 14th in the light Chicago White Sox system. (At the time, in-depth reconnaissance reports were still in the rebirth of Fangraphs.)
The 34-year-old Semien has continued to exceed those modest expectations for the 12 years since. He arrived in the major leagues with the White Sox in September 2013, then established himself as a daily player after trading him as a track and field game before the 2015 season. Now, after six seasons in Oakland and one season in Toronto, now in his fourth year with the Rangers, the Bay Area native has three All-Star options, two silver slugge dogs and a gold glove. In the current campaign – Semien had 48 WRC+ in 171 sets that entered the game on Wednesday – despite that, he still scored 1,532 hits, including 241 home runs, playing 108 WRC+ and 36.2 wars in his major league career.
What did Semien do American Baseball Does the scout report look like the spring of 2013? Furthermore, what does he think about this over the years? Want to find out, I've shared some –BA Contributor Phil Rogers wrote and asked Semien to respond.
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“Former California wide receiver son [Damien] Semien, Marcus, a three-body sport standout in high school, followed his father's footsteps to Berkeley, where he focused on baseball. ”
“I’m actually just playing basketball and baseball in high school,” Semien replied. “I’m part of the senior high school state championship runner-up, so I probably missed my first three weeks [baseball] season. After graduating from high school, I knew baseball was all I wanted to play in college. ”
“The White Sox selected him in the 34th high school game, but it wasn't until 2011 when they brought him to the sixth round and gave him a $130,000 prize.”
“I got about $50,000 in high school,” Semian recalls. “Cal and I got scholarships, and my parents both went there, 10 minutes from my home. I thought it was smart to stay home, get a good education and compete with some pretty intense competition in the Pac-10 game.
“I'm happy with the jump from round 34,” the former Golden Bear added. “My junior started very slowly. I wish I could get into that season a little higher – I had a nice summer on the stick – but it started slowly. It was the first year of the BBCOR Bats, and the whole country's strength was all over the country. Once in the playoffs, I got hotter, I got hotter and landed in the sixth round.”
“He is highly regarded as a fielder than the college batsman, but Chicago predicts he will make great strides in the set as a professional player – he did in his first full season.”
“I got injured in my first full season, but my board discipline will certainly get better,” Semien said. “I also got some strength at Winston-Salem, which is a great court.”
“Last year, he opened his stance slightly to enable him to send out more courts.”
“Oh, maybe,” Semien said. “I don't remember thinking about it, but when you're younger, sometimes you make some adjustments. But, like I said, I started walking more and hitting for strength; the extra base hit rate was there. My team was really good that year. We scored a lot.”
“Some of the Boy Scouts are still skeptical of his Bats, questioning his strength and whether he will hit the ball with enough base, anywhere except the bottom of the lineup.”
“Well, once I went to Oakland, I was at the bottom of the order,” Semien pointed out. “I'm a little harder as I get older. My strength is getting a little bit more. In the minor league, I have some nice power numbers – I think I've hit 21 home runs in total [minors and majors] In 2013, in 2014, I think that's another 21 mergers. So the power gets there.
“I switched to 34-inch bats and started hitting more power. Once I reached 2019, I went back to 33 1/2. The ball flew better that year. That was my strong power.”
“Although his range is average, the strength of his arms and reliable hands have solid strength and reliable hands that may push him toward a second base on the road.”
“They know that,” Semien replied. “I'm at second base now. I feel confident in my ability. I've had a tough start in Oakland. I spent six years at shortstop and then ranked second in Toronto.”
“How Semien’s performance in Double-A in 2013 will shed light on whether he can eventually be the major league regular season or will be the utility type.”
“That was my best year for a minor,” Semien said. “I won the MVP in the Southern League and was called to the major leagues the following year. I think I answered the phone.”
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Previous “Old Scouting Reports Revisited” interviews can be found through these links: Cody Bellinger, Matthew Boyd, Dylan Cease, Matt Chapman, Erick Fedde, Kyle Freeland, Lucas Giolito, Randal Grichuk, Ian Happ, Jeff Hoffman, Matthew Liberatore, Sean Newcomb, Bailey Ober, Max Scherzer
