People gotta quit sleeping on Marcus Semien

[ron883]

I think this dude is prime time. At every level he has posted a good OBP, good walk rate, strikeout rate, and above average slugging% for his position. The guy can be an allstar in my mind. I can see him putting up a great OBP in the future. Everything about the guy is good. I'm disappointed they brought up Sanchez instead of him.

 

[chitownsportsfan]

I think this dude is prime time. At every level he has posted a good OBP, good walk rate, strikeout rate, and above average slugging% for his position. The guy can be an allstar in my mind. I can see him putting up a great OBP in the future. Everything about the guy is good. I'm disappointed they brought up Sanchez instead of him.

 

This probably didn't need its own thread but I will take the bait:

 

I don't think anyone is "sleeping on him". I think most on this board would have preferred him to Sanchez at the moment. He is probably being held back at least partially by Super 2 concerns. Someone with expert knowledge of the CBA and his service time could probably clarify that point.

Edited August 22, 2014 by chitownsportsfan

[Jose Abreu]

He had a 32% K rate in the Majors this year (181 PA). He just needs to work on that, but he does have incredible pitch recognition skills. Future All-Star? I don't think so, but I do think he will be a decent starter in the future.

[ron883]

This probably didn't need its own thread but I will take the bait:

 

I don't think anyone is "sleeping on him". I think most on this board would have preferred him to Sanchez at the moment. He is probably being held back at least partially by Super 2 concerns. Someone with expert knowledge of the CBA and his service time could probably clarify that point.

I meant it to be a Marcus Semien discussion thread too. I just think a lot of people are sleeping on him, and I believe he has allstar talent.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

I don't think many, if any, people are sleeping on Semien. In fact, he seems to be the consenus board favorite for 2B of the future. If nothing else, Semien is thought highly of by many.

 

If anything, people are sleeping on Sanchez. People act as if he's some slouch when that's not the case at all. It seems like people's love for Semien is clouding their judgment on Sanchez.

 

I said this in the Beckham trade thread, but I'll repeat it here: We got a good look at Semien earlier in the season, now we're going to see what Sanchez has to offer. Besides, Semien will be up in like a week and a half anyway.

 

Sanchez is young, had a good bounce back season in AAA, and showed by far the most pop of his career. Perhaps there's more power potential there than initially thought; his body is filling out now afterall.

 

We'll know who's better based on who wins the job out of spring training. For now, let's give Sanchez a chance. He certainly deserves it.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

The comp I keep coming back to for Semien is Ben Zobrist.

 

Zobrist is basically a .270-.280 type hitter who gets on base around .360-.370 and is a 20 HR bat playing all over the infield.

[chitownsportsfan]

The comp I keep coming back to for Semien is Ben Zobrist.

 

Zobrist is basically a .270-.280 type hitter who gets on base around .360-.370 and is a 20 HR bat playing all over the infield.

 

Ok, well, that's nice and all but there's only one Ben Zobrist and it ain't Marcus Semian. Semian hasn't even proven he can play 3B competently let alone 6 or 7 positions. Let alone sustain a 275 type average. His problem in April and early May was getting too deep into counts for the sake of getting deep into counts.

 

It's one thing to be Jose Abreu or Mike Trout and do that (with the strikeouts) but if you don't have elite pitch recognition skills and hand eye ability you're not going to be very successful doing that. Adam Dunn is a good example of that idea in the extreme.

 

But Marcus has good speed, scouts say what, like 55 or 60? So he should be able to sustain a high BABIP and help drive his average. But he's gonna have to take the bat off his shoulders a bit more.

 

And oh yea, stop making a lot of errors. He's a good prospect with a lot to like imo but it's hardly a given he's even a solid starter let alone a borderline superstar like Zobrist.

[caulfield12]

I don't think many, if any, people are sleeping on Semien. In fact, he seems to be the consenus board favorite for 2B of the future. If nothing else, Semien is thought highly of by many.

 

If anything, people are sleeping on Sanchez. People act as if he's some slouch when that's not the case at all. It seems like people's love for Semien is clouding their judgment on Sanchez.

 

I said this in the Beckham trade thread, but I'll repeat it here: We got a good look at Semien earlier in the season, now we're going to see what Sanchez has to offer. Besides, Semien will be up in like a week and a half anyway.

 

Sanchez is young, had a good bounce back season in AAA, and showed by far the most pop of his career. Perhaps there's more power potential there than initially thought; his body is filling out now afterall.

 

We'll know who's better based on who wins the job out of spring training. For now, let's give Sanchez a chance. He certainly deserves it.

 

I'd guess right now it's 60/40 in favor of Micah Johnson, with many thinking of Semien as a platoon partner with Gillaspie, PR and fill-in at 2B, SS and LF.

 

 

 

[Chicago White Sox]

For those talking about how we had a chance to see Semien earlier this year, let's not ignore the fact that he only had 142 PAs in AAA prior to his brief major league stint. Clearly he wasn't ready for the majors and was only up due to Beckham's injury. Drawing too many conclusions from those limited at-bats is quite short-sighted IMO.

[chitownsportsfan]

For those talking about how we had a chance to see Semien earlier this year, let's not ignore the fact that he only had 142 PAs in AAA prior to his brief major league stint. Clearly he wasn't ready for the majors and was only up due to Beckham's injury. Drawing too many conclusions from those limited at-bats is quite short-sighted IMO.

 

Good point and his play in AAA has been solid. He does combine tantalizing OBP skills with a bit of speed, contact and pop at potentially multiple positions. If anything, his holding his own for a bit in MLB at the start is a point in his favor long term.

 

He reminds me of the guy I trade for in OOTP that has the potential to be a 3-5 WAR stud all over the diamond but almost inevitably proves he can only play 1 or 2 positions and hit for around a OPS of 730. Not a bad player, but not a star either.

Edited August 22, 2014 by chitownsportsfan

[Señor Ding-Dong]

For those talking about how we had a chance to see Semien earlier this year, let's not ignore the fact that he only had 142 PAs in AAA prior to his brief major league stint. Clearly he wasn't ready for the majors and was only up due to Beckham's injury. Drawing too many conclusions from those limited at-bats is quite short-sighted IMO.

I didn't say that it was enough to draw any conclusions from, but the fact is we did see him for a bit and now with Sanchez's bounce back the organization wants to take a look at him.

[Señor Ding-Dong]

I'd guess right now it's 60/40 in favor of Micah Johnson, with many thinking of Semien as a platoon partner with Gillaspie, PR and fill-in at 2B, SS and LF.

Probably true, but I've noticed many people mention their concerns with Micah's defense and considered that when I made my comment. A number of people want him to move to CF.

[beautox]

I agree with what others have said, I think the reason Semien isn't being called up is because of Super 2 considerations and thats ok its a few more days to save a lot of potential headache and hassle in the not too distant future. I too believe a lot of people across the different sox outlets are under rating Semien, personally i think he has the capability of being a player like Ron Gant and if that comes to pass that would be huge.

 

 

As for Sanchez everyone has always praised his defensive chops at 2B personally i think he could be an adequate SS and seeing how he is so young I wouldn't be against putting him strictly at SS next year at AAA to start the season, if Hahn doesn't find a trade worthy of Ramirez's talents. Sanchez will still only be 22 for the majority of next season, he'll still be nearly 5 years younger than the average age in the IL. Also I'm not opposed to letting that infield get comfortable with each other: Smith, Ravelo, Johnson, Sanchez and Davidson, thats a fair amount of depth and potential regulars there.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Ok, well, that's nice and all but there's only one Ben Zobrist and it ain't Marcus Semian. Semian hasn't even proven he can play 3B competently let alone 6 or 7 positions. Let alone sustain a 275 type average. His problem in April and early May was getting too deep into counts for the sake of getting deep into counts.

 

It's one thing to be Jose Abreu or Mike Trout and do that (with the strikeouts) but if you don't have elite pitch recognition skills and hand eye ability you're not going to be very successful doing that. Adam Dunn is a good example of that idea in the extreme.

 

But Marcus has good speed, scouts say what, like 55 or 60? So he should be able to sustain a high BABIP and help drive his average. But he's gonna have to take the bat off his shoulders a bit more.

 

And oh yea, stop making a lot of errors. He's a good prospect with a lot to like imo but it's hardly a given he's even a solid starter let alone a borderline superstar like Zobrist.

 

I'm not sure that you realize that comps are ceilings.

[Andy the Clown]

I agree OP. This message should be postmarked to Rick Hahn.

[southsider2k5]

I haven't seen this much hype over a white sox middle infield prospect who didn't at the major league level since...

[SoxnGiants]

I'd like to see him get consistent time at SS. I think these next few weeks offer that in AAA. If he can offer decent defense and a plus bat for SS, that's a great asset to have. I also love the way we've handled him. Moved him along as appropriate for his success in the minors, gave him a taste of MLB pitching to give him something to work on and then let him get his at bat's in AAA. Average is low but mostly a factor of bad BABIP for his norm. Still a very good OPS despite the dip in average.

 

Very good prospect imo. I think he's a decent to good MLB starter in the future.

[Chicago White Sox]

I haven't seen this much hype over a white sox middle infield prospect who didn't at the major league level since...

Lol...just a horrible comparison.

[shysocks]

I'm not sure that you realize that comps are ceilings.

I can't see Semien as a 5-WAR player every year, but their hitting profiles are similar. I am a big fan of Semien though. And he performed better, at a younger age, in his first short MLB stints than Zobrist did. So in terms of theoretical, absolute ceiling, Zobrist isn't a bad name.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Ya Semiens got a good walk rate but can he hit?

 

In 288 ABs vs RHP the last 2 years at AAA Semien is batting just .226. Couple that with his .196 average vs RHP in 107 ABs at the major league level and you got me thinking he's a platoon player.

 

Idk about you guys, but that's a bit of a red flag for me.

 

(Hated bringing up those stats because before I looked at em I too had high hopes for him)

Edited August 22, 2014 by scs787

[peavy44]

I'd like to see him get consistent time at SS. I think these next few weeks offer that in AAA. If he can offer decent defense and a plus bat for SS, that's a great asset to have. I also love the way we've handled him. Moved him along as appropriate for his success in the minors, gave him a taste of MLB pitching to give him something to work on and then let him get his at bat's in AAA. Average is low but mostly a factor of bad BABIP for his norm. Still a very good OPS despite the dip in average.

 

Very good prospect imo. I think he's a decent to good MLB starter in the future.

 

We are not trading alexei ramirez.

[witesoxfan]

Ya Semiens got a good walk rate but can he hit?

 

In 288 ABs vs RHP the last 2 years at AAA Semien is batting just .226. Couple that with his .196 average vs RHP in 107 ABs at the major league level and you got me thinking he's a platoon player.

 

Idk about you guys, but that's a bit of a red flag for me.

 

(Hated bringing up those stats because before I looked at em I too had high hopes for him)

 

It's a valid point, but he hit .276/.412/.465/.878 in approximately 370 plate appearances at AA.

 

Frankly, if his penchant to draw walks and hit for power translates to the majors, he could hit .240 against righties and be OK.

[2nd_city_saint787]

It's a valid point, but he hit .276/.412/.465/.878 in approximately 370 plate appearances at AA.

 

Frankly, if his penchant to draw walks and hit for power translates to the majors, he could hit .240 against righties and be OK.

 

Albeit a much smaller sample size, Micah hit .360/.438/.532 in 111 ABs at AA.

 

Guess what I'm getting at is I have no problem with the Sox seemingly having Micah ahead of Semien.

[knightni]

He makes for a poor mattress, he's a far better infielder.

[SoxnGiants]

We are not trading alexei ramirez.

Probably not yet - but he's over 30. He might start to decline any year now. It'd be nice if Semien can push him anyway. No rush with Marcus.