Background
Semien grew up pitching and playing infield in El Cerrito Youth Baseball, across the bay from San Francisco, and was a member of the area"s All-Star teams.
Semien grew up pitching and playing infield in El Cerrito Youth Baseball, across the bay from San Francisco, and was a member of the area"s All-Star teams.
He chose not to sign and attend college at University of California, Berkeley.
He previously played in the MLB for the Chicago White Sox. He went on to attend Saint Mary"s College High School in Berkeley, California. At Saint Mary"s, he hit.471 as a junior.371 as a senior, and was named all-league three times where he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 34th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
After struggling as a freshman, but improved as a sophomore, hitting.328.
As a junior, Semien was the starting shortstop for the team, but hit.275, hurting his stock for the MLB Draft. Chicago White Sox
Semien was again drafted by the White Sox this time in the sixth round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
He started his career in 2011 with the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators. He finished the 2011 season hitting.253 in 229 at-bats with, 15 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 3 HRs, 26 Reserve Bank of India and 3 SBs.
Semien was moved up to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem Dash for the 2012 season.
There he hit.273 in 418 at-bats with 31 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 14 HRs, 59 Reserve Bank of India and 11 SBs. Foreign the 2013 season, Semien was ranked the White Sox #8 prospect. The White Sox selected Semien"s contract from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on September 3, 2013.
He debuted against the New York Yankees on September 4, and recorded his first hit, a single, in his first at bat against Central Committee Sabathia.
He hit his first major league home run against J. A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays on September 23. Oakland Athletics
After the 2014 season, the White Sox traded Semien, Chris Bassitt, Rangel Ravelo, and Josh Phegley to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa.