Marcus Semien is a battler. You saw it on full display on Saturday. After being hit by a pitch, he stayed in the game and wound up delivering the game-winning hit. This should come as no surprise. Semien has battled all season long. Coming off receiving his third career All Star nod in 2024, Semien has set the standard for being one of the better players in baseball. But that standard was not met to start the season.
Marcus Semien Struggled Early In 2025 Season
In the first two months of the season the 2021 MLBbro Player of the Year, was batting .173/.260/.224 with three home runs and 18 RBI. Semien’s hitting struggles led to him losing his lead off role in the batting order, dropping to as low as eighth in the lineup. During this part of the season, the Rangers were 27-30 sitting third in the American League West.
“I think a lot of us had slow starts offensively. It took us a couple months to get it going, but the pitchers carried us throughout,” Semien told MLBbro.com
Everything felt like it was going downhill for Semien. Only two years ago, Semien was the leadoff hitter for the World Series Champions Texas Rangers. But, instead of losing confidence and quitting, Semien displayed perseverance through his struggles and found his breakthrough.
“For me it was the end of May in the series against St. Louis where I felt more like myself… this is who I am and I am going to be better from here on out,” the record-holder for home runs in a season by a second baseman added.
Semien and Texas Rangers Turned Season Around On May 30
That turnaround game Semien was mentioning was on May 30, where the Rangers squared off against the St. Louis Cardinals. Semien finished the game 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI’s and seven total bases. After this breakout game, Semien has looked a lot more like himself. From May 30 and onward, Semien has been hitting .275 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI.
Semien has now brought his regular season numbers up to .223/.303/.358 with 13 home runs and 52 RB’s. He has also moved up the batting order, currently hitting around the heart of the order. Semien’s approach for the game of baseball is predicated off putting the ball in play and scoring runs in any facet.
Semien Is Focused On Scoring Runs & Winning Games
“I would love to hit more homeruns I think all of us would” he tells MLBbro.com “Some years are better than others, but there is still a lot of baseball left. My goal is to always score 100 runs whether that is hitting homeruns, running the bases well, hitting doubles, any way I can to score a run.”
After winning the World Series in 2023, missing the playoffs in 2024, and now sitting third in the AL West with a 56-50 record, Semien still believes the Rangers can make a playoff push—following a formula similar to their 2023 run.
“Work starts now to get in, the AL is very competitive with Houston, Seattle, us and Anaheim all playing solid baseball. To get in any way you can, they expanded the playoffs and allowed a couple more teams to get in and we were one of them in 2023 that snuck in and won the whole thing.”
