Munetaka Murakami could reset Ohtani's unbreakable MLB record in his first season

Munetaka Murakami has been nothing short of remarkable so far this season, his first since coming stateside. The 26-year-old has been as advertised, displaying immense power and getting on base at a solid clip for a White Sox team that is going nowhere fast. However, the White Sox front office, headlined by Chris Getz, deserve credit for taking a chance on Murakami, a power-hitting first baseman some scouts thought wouldn't transition well to MLB. It turns out they couldn't have been more wrong.

Murakami has 12 home runs on the season, and is slashing .243/.373/.592. What's even more impressive is Murakami's 22% barrel rate and 62% hard hit rate. All of Murakami's 12 extra-base hits have been home runs. If MLB pitchers are going to figure this guy out, it better be soon, as he's on pace for some impressive records few thought possible in his first season.

Munetaka Murakami could break Shohei Ohtani's home run record

Back in 2024, Shohei Ohtani hit 55 home runs, the most in a single season by any player of Japanese descent in MLB. Ohtani shattered his previous record of 46, which he set in 2021. In the fraternity of NPB-turned-MLB stars, there is no one in the same stratosphere as Ohtani, who may very well be the best baseball player of all-time when he hangs up his cleats. The two-way star can do it all, but it speaks volumes of Murakami's hot start that we're even discussing the possibility of one of Ohtani's core records falling.

Through his first 29 big-league games, Murakami is outpacing Ohtani at the plate. Ohtani had six home runs, a .936 OPS and 20 RBIs in that time span. Murakami has doubled up Ohtani in home runs, and has a .965 OPS to boot.

Murakami is on pace for 56 home runs, which would break Ohtani's single-season record for a Japanese-born player. The two World Baseball Classic teammates have immense respect for one another, but Ohtani entered MLB with far more hype as a result of his two-way status. Murakami's scouting report brought with it some clear flaws that MLB pitchers have yet to take advantage of.

Why MLB teams missed out on Munetaka Murakami

The White Sox signed Murakami to a two-year, $34 million deal this past winter. Just about any MLB team could've afforded him at that rate, but there were plenty of questions about whether his plate prowess would transition well from NPB. Here's what Baseball American wrote about Murakami back in December, when he signed with the White Sox.

"The slugger shows below-average contact rates against nearly every pitch type, but does a majority of his damage against fastballs. His sample size against premium velocity is limited but with plus bat speed, he should be able to catch up to top-end MLB velocity once acclimated. He struggles with offspeed and spin, running 40%+ whiff rates against splitters, changeups, curveballs and sliders during his final season in NPB," Geoff Pontes wrote.

Murakami is a pure power hitter. He struck out a lot in his last season abroad, and struggled to hit breaking balls. This led some teams to wonder if he was a one-trick pony, Joey Gallo type. There's certainly plenty of value in a player who can put the ball over the fence consistently, but if Murakami couldn't get on-base and struck out over 40 percent of the time against breaking balls, it would've made for an easy scouting report for opposing pitchers.

Through April 25, Murakami struck out in 32 percent of his at-bats, and hit home runs in 9 percent of them. His 21 percent walk rate has been a pleasant surprise and kept the opposition honest.

Most importantly, Murakami has found himself in plenty of fastball-friendly counts. So, while he struggles against breaking balls, pitchers have been forced to give him fastballs to hit over the heart of the plate. Should that continue, he'll have a good chance at maintaining his power over the course of an entire season.

More MLB news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow