Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami has ripped through the first six weeks of the season, hitting 14 home runs — one behind Aaron Judge for the MLB lead — while posting a .369 on-base percentage and 55 strikeouts, the report says.
Opponents and scouts are scrambling to explain the surge. Arizona reliever Ryan Thompson said he threw Murakami one pitch and “he hit it 700 feet,” and Thompson told ESPN that he had given up a 451-foot blast to the rookie. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told the report that Murakami looked “very physical in the box” and showed a readiness to hit every pitch.
The report traces the White Sox acquisition to a busy offseason in which numerous teams passed on Murakami. Per the report, he signed a two-year, $34 million contract with Chicago after several clubs declined to pursue him, including the Mets, Red Sox, Angels, A’s and Diamondbacks. The Mets signed Jorge Polanco at first base instead, and the report says Mets corner infielders have combined for just six home runs this season. The San Diego Padres liked Murakami but were in a spending freeze, according to league sources.
Murakami’s track record in Japan was part of the calculus. The report notes he hit 56 home runs and became the youngest Triple Crown winner in Japanese professional baseball history as a 22-year-old in 2022, and that he was posted by the Yakult Swallows this winter. ESPN analyst Kiley McDaniel projected a five-year, $80 million deal, the report says, but that long-term offer never materialized.
Concerns about strikeouts and contact helped deter suitors, per the report. He struck out 977 times in 892 NPB games, including 180 in 2024, had a strikeout rate above 28% in each of his final three seasons in Japan, and posted a 72.6% in-zone contact rate that the report said would have been the second worst in MLB in 2025. Murakami told the team interpreter that “it’s still a learning curve” and that he is “still getting used to it, but I’m seeing the ball very well,” the report says.
