Marcus Semien must improve in these areas for a Rangers bounceback in 2025

Dual purpose hitters are challenging to properly assess. Unlike contact savants or power barons, they’re in the unfortunate position of having to check off “multiple boxes.”

Marcus Semien has been this sort of player for the bulk of his career, and that distinction can come with a myriad of highs and lows. It was not an ideal 2024 for Semien or the Texas Rangers, but hitting more balls in the air and being more patient at the plate could allow the San Francisco native to thrive next season.

Semien collected a .237 batting average, a .699 OPS, and 23 home runs this past year. These are not atrocious marks by any stretch, but it would be fair to expect more from a player who bashed 45 home runs in 2021 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays and led the American League with 185 hits in 2023.

Marcus Semien must improve in these areas for a Rangers bounceback in 2025

Perhaps the most glaring aspect of Semien’s batted ball profile is that his ground ball% has slowly increased since his breakout in 2021. That season he hit the ball on the ground 31% of the time, in 2024 the righty ended the year with a 39.6% mark. Additionally, he grounded into the fourth-most double plays on the team.

Of course, it would not be advantageous to become one-dimensional but the 34-year-old must make a concerted effort to hit line drives and fly balls when necessary. Additionally, it will be key for him to see more pitches at the plate and work deeper into counts.

In 2021, Semien saw 4.037 pitches per plate appearance. But by the end of 2024, this number had dipped to 3.657. Hitters are constantly forced to toe the line between aggression and passivity.

Semien will have to face this dielman again next season, and do so without passing up pitches he can hit early in counts. His batting average on balls in play was .250 last campaign, and an argument can be made that either patience or assertiveness could have helped. Most managers and coaches would prefer players to be selective, so Semien should lean into this approach more as he attempts to do damage.