Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: A’s shortstop Marcus Semien has lost a huge chunk of the season to a wrist injury, but looks nice in his return from the DL. While the power has not come back for the shortstop who hit 27 home runs last year, Semien has developed a new skill-set: the ability to draw a walk. Over his last six games Semien has drawn five walks, giving him a .367 OBP despite a pedestrian .240 BA. That has helped Semien to a .236/.339/.363 line on the year. While that certainly does not pop off the page, Semien has added seven steals in only 41 games.

It is difficult to imagine a player can go from being an all-power, low-OBP hitter to a low-power, high-OBP stolen base machine, but that is the transformation Semien has gone through this season (albeit in a small sample size). One would speculate that the power may return for the 26-year-old as his wrist continues to heal, which means Semien could provide nice power AND speed down the stretch. His newfound patience at the plate makes him a potential five-category contributor in OBP leagues. If he is still available in your 12-team league, now is the time to snap him up.