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OWNED IN: 51% of Fleaflicker leagues
ANALYSIS: Marcus Semienstarted and finished strong last season, but was unplayable during the middle stretch. Ultimately, though, he showed improvement across the board from his rookie year, making higher quality contact and hitting for more power while cutting his strikeout rate substantially. He's carried over those gains so far in 2016, and is also walking more often.
Assuming Semien can avoid a prolonged slump this time around, 35 HR+SB is a distinct possibility. He hasn't attempted a steal yet, but with four homers through his first 13 games, Semien has been plenty valuable. Semien committed a whopping 35 errors last season, more than any other shortstop this millennium. He’s still eligible there, though, and Athletics’ only other options at the position are Jed Lowrie (no fielding whiz himself and injury-prone) and Eric Sogard, who is terrible. Of course, if he keeps hitting bombs at anything close to the current rate, his job will be quite safe. The only other shortstops who hit 15 homers and stole more than 10 bases last year were Carlos Correa and Ian Desmond. Correa is off to a great start befitting his status as an early-round pick. Desmond...not so much. But hey...you know who would make a great replacement for Desmond on your roster?
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