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Athletics GM Billy Beane has been very active this offseason, dealing away his best hitter, third baseman Josh Donaldson, his best power hitter, first baseman/dh Brandon Moss and now he has dealt his best starting pitcher, Jeff Samardzija. Last night, Beane dealt Samardzija and Michael Ynoa to the White Sox for infielder Marcus Semien, pitcher Chris Bassitt, catcher Josh Phegley and AA fist baseman Rangel Ravelo.
The White Sox are making a statement that they want to compete in 2015, as not only did they trade for Samardzja, but they also signed former Yankee closer David Robertson to a 4 year, $46 million deal late last night.
The A's on the other hand appear to be in a rebuild, but they did get back some major leaguers in their recent deals, so I wouldn't say it is a full rebuild. You can never count out Beane, as he has proven he can build winners over and over.
So, what is the fantasy impact of this deal? Well, Semien is the big winner, as he goes from being a utility bat on the White Sox roster to a starting shortstop in the A's lineup. He may not have the range to play shortstop every day, but he can also play second and third base, so I imagine he will be moved around the infield by Beane and manager Bob Melvin.
Semien has hit well at all levels of the minors, possessing a solid eye at the plate. This issue for Semien is to bring that plate discipline that was on full display in AA and AAA the last two seasons to the big leagues. Here is a look at Semien's stats over the last two seasons in AA, AAA and the big leagues, courtesy of FanGraphs:
|
Season |
Team |
G |
PA |
HR |
R |
RBI |
SB |
BB% |
K% |
ISO |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
|
2011 |
White Sox (A) |
60 |
262 |
3 |
35 |
26 |
3 |
8.40% |
20.20% |
0.122 |
0.253 |
0.32 |
0.376 |
0.318 |
92 |
|
2012 |
White Sox (A+) |
107 |
487 |
14 |
80 |
59 |
11 |
11.30% |
19.90% |
0.199 |
0.273 |
0.362 |
0.471 |
0.373 |
131 |
|
2013 |
Desert Dogs (R) |
21 |
89 |
2 |
9 |
8 |
0 |
11.20% |
25.80% |
0.117 |
0.156 |
0.258 |
0.273 |
0.258 |
49 |
|
2013 |
White Sox (AA) |
105 |
483 |
15 |
90 |
49 |
20 |
17.40% |
13.70% |
0.193 |
0.290 |
0.420 |
0.483 |
0.415 |
167 |
|
2013 |
White Sox (AAA) |
32 |
142 |
4 |
20 |
17 |
4 |
9.90% |
16.90% |
0.2 |
0.264 |
0.338 |
0.464 |
0.359 |
123 |
|
2013 |
White Sox |
21 |
71 |
2 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
1.40% |
31.00% |
0.145 |
0.261 |
0.268 |
0.406 |
0.291 |
77 |
|
2014 |
White Sox (AAA) |
83 |
366 |
15 |
57 |
52 |
7 |
14.50% |
16.10% |
0.234 |
0.267 |
0.380 |
0.502 |
0.391 |
142 |
|
2014 |
White Sox |
64 |
255 |
6 |
30 |
28 |
3 |
8.20% |
27.50% |
0.139 |
0.234 |
0.300 |
0.372 |
0.301 |
88 |
|
Total |
- - - |
85 |
326 |
8 |
37 |
35 |
5 |
6.70% |
28.20% |
0.14 |
0.240 |
0.293 |
0.380 |
0.299 |
86 |
As I wrote last night, Semien has the power and speed to put up double digit home runs and stolen bases in regular duty, even playing half of his games in Oakland. Playing at three levels in 2013, Semien hit 21 home runs and stolen 26 bases. In AAA and the big leagues last season, Semien his 21 home runs again, but stole just 10 bases. He hasn't shown good plate discipline in the majors yet, but showed an excellent batting eye in AA and AAA over the last two seasons, and it could just be that he needs regular playing time for that skill to show up in the big leagues as well.
And he should see regular playing time in Oakland in 2015 as he was the main piece in the six player deal last night. Here is beat writer John Hickey, via Twitter:
#Athletics GM Billy Beane confident newly acquired Marcus Semien can handle SS defensively, feels club has filled the gap there.
— John Hickey (@JHickey3) December 10, 2014
I took a quick look at my 2015 shortstop rankings, and think I will rank Semien in the 14-16 range. He would fall in the 18-20 range in my 2015 second base rankings.
So, what do you think? Is Semien fantasy relevant in 12 team mixed leagues or just an AL-only league choice at shortstop or second base? Let's hear it in the comments section.