Marcus Semien is someone the Chicago White Sox is hoping to keep cool in this series.
Semien, who came to Toronto in the offseason on a one-year, $18 million contract, is batting .294 on the season, producing a slash line of .294/.365/.531 with an OPS of .895. The second baseman is second on the team in hits with 67 and has driven home 32 runs. He is second on the team in home runs with 13 and tied for first on the team in extra-base hits with 14.
Semien just won the AL Player of the Month award for the month of May. He produced a slash line of .368/.429/.702 while hitting eight home runs, driving in 22 runs, and collecting 42 hits. Defensively, Semien has been one of the best second basemen in the MLB this season.
Since the month of June started, he has cooled off a bit, hitting only .263 through five games, and the White Sox need to do everything they can to keep him cold during the series. He has increased his strikeout rate this season and with the power pitching the White Sox have, the team could continue to drive that rate up. Regardless, Semien is having a bounce-back year after struggling during the COVID shortened season in 2020.