Marcus

Semien

Semien’s home run was his 20th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Merrill Kelly in the third inning. It’s his second home run in his last three games. Semien is headed for his lowest home run total in a full season since 2018 and potentially the lowest average of his career, but he’s showing the value of playing everyday. He’s scored 90 runs and has 69 RBI despite not having his best season. That’s a pretty decent floor, which will be the argument for fantasy managers to buy into Semien once again next year.

The stolen base is just his fifth of the season. He’s hitting .236 with a .689 OPS and 65 RBI this year. Semien has 18 home runs and 87 runs scored, which are respectable numbers, but his stats are down across the board this year. He turns 34 later this month and it’s fair to wonder at this point if this is the beginning of his decline.

The Rangers placed Corey Seager on the injured list with a hip injury Wednesday, so Texas will be without both of their star middle infielders for this contest. Semien’s day off appears to be just a day of rest, and Ezequiel Duran will be the starting second baseman in his absence.

Semien extended his hitting streak to eight games. He’s 12-for-38 (.315) with six runs scored, a home run and four RBI over his last eight games. Semien is hitting .247 with a .724 OPS and 61 RBI on the year.

Semien now has an RBI in back-to-back games, which he has done only one other time since July 8th. It’s been a tough season for Semien, but he continues to hit lead-off in a good lineup and should remain in fantasy lineups as well.

Semien hooked a line-drive around the left-field foul pole in the sixth inning to break up a potential shutout. It was his second big fly in his last six games since the start of August and gives him 17 round-trippers on the year.

Smith is leading off, while Semien is batting third. Quite a day of change for the Rangers, who also made a trade and 11 transactions in all. The lineup switch is just a further shakeup. Semien is hitting .293/.390/.488 this month, so a lack of production isn’t an issue here.

Semien led off the first inning with a triple off Kevin Gausman and scored on a wild pitch to put the Rangers on the board. He later drew a walk in the third and scored on a double by Wyatt Langford. The 33-year-old second baseman is hitting .246/.319/.407 with 15 homers, 70 runs scored, 53 RBI, and three steals across 464 plate appearances.

Semien also singled. The 33-year-old tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning with a solo homer off an otherwise effective Jonathan Cannon. It’s the 15th homer and 53rd RBI for the veteran second baseman. The .246/.319/.405 slash is a bit disappointing for a player of Semien’s caliber, but the power production definitely helps make up for the lack of average.

Semien took Spencer Arrighetti deep to begin the contest to give Texas a 1-0 lead and and Semien his 18th homer of the season. The roundtrippers have been helpful, but his .241/.309/.393 slash isn’t what fantasy managers signed up for when they selected Semien early.