Munetaka Murakami Fantasy Stats

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami continued to surprise in his first season in the big leagues on Saturday night in an 8-3 win over the crosstown-rival Chicago Cubs, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two more home runs, three RBI, a walk, and a strikeout to raise his season average to .236 and his OPS to .943. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger wasn't the only one to terrorize Cubs right-hander starter Jameson Taillon on Saturday, as the veteran hurler gave up five total long balls in his outing. After the two-homer performance at Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side of Chicago, Murakami is now up to 17 home runs and 32 RBI in his first 45 games with the Pale Hose in 2026. He currently trails only Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber for the league lead in home runs (20). Murakami sits in the 91st percentile in xwOBA and is in the 100th percentile in hard-hit rate, so the analytics back up his red-hot start to his first year in the United States. But with a strikeout rate in the third percentile, fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting any kind of help from the Japanese star in the batting average department.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami went 2-for-4 with three RBI and his 12th homer of the season on Monday night in his team's rain-delayed win over the Angels. The White Sox exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning of their 8-7 win, and Murakami delivered one of the big blows, smashing a three-run homer to give his team the lead. The 26-year-old from Japan has quickly established himself as one of the biggest early-season fantasy baseball breakouts, hitting .243 with a .407 wOBA in his 29 games, with 12 homers, 23 RBI, and a 61.9% hard-hit rate. Murakami has the sixth-highest barrel rate per batted ball event and the sixth-highest hard-hit rate in the majors this season, and he hit his homer on Monday night against veteran lefty Drew Pomeranz. Four of his 12 homers have come off southpaws, so he is a great power option to keep in your lineup regardless of matchup going forward.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Munetaka Murakami homered again on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks and has gone yard in five straight contests. The 26-year-old slugger in his first season in the majors is hitting .256 with a .436 wOBA and a 66.7% hard-hit rate through his first 24 games. Murakami has a total of 10 homers on the year with 19 runs scored, 19 RBI, 21 walks, and 32 strikeouts. His power has been a huge boost to the middle of the White Sox lineup, and he has exceeded expectations in his transition from the NPB in Japan. He is definitely worth starting right now for as long as he stays so hot, and it will be fascinating to see if he can maintain this production throughout the season.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Munetaka Murakami's power has certainly translated to the big leagues in his first year in Chicago. The 26-year-old Japanese native had another big game in Tuesday's 11-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, going 3-for-5 with his ninth home run of the year, two runs scored, and a walk out of the two-hole in the batting order. Murakami has now gone deep in four straight games, and he's tied for second in baseball in home runs in the early going. If he can continue at a similar power pace, Murakami will end up being a steal for fantasy managers in 2026. However, he's also striking out at a rate over 30% and is hitting just .234 (18-for-77) with 17 RBI, 18 runs scored, 21 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 99 plate appearances across 23 games played. The good news is that Murakami is drawing plenty of walks -- he's tied for third-most in the league in that category. Obviously, fantasy managers will want to keep running him out there. Murakami is rostered in 91% of Yahoo leagues.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Munetaka Murakami is getting the day off on Tuesday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles, according to MLB.com. Lenyn Sosa will make the start at the hot corner for the Pale Hose and will hit second against Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers. This will be Murakami's first day off of the year. The 26-year-old Japanese infielder has gone just 7-for-34 (.206) in his first 10 major-league games, but he's provided plenty of power for fantasy managers, slugging four home runs and driving in seven while scoring eight runs in his 42 plate appearances. He's added seven walks while striking out 13 times. Murakami has hit a bit of a rough patch of late after his strong start, going 2-for-16 in the last five games, so the White Sox will give him a breather against a left-hander. If Murakami doesn't lower his strikeout rate, he's going to be a drain on fantasy managers' batting average while still providing solid power potential.

Chicago White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami is making the start at first base and will bat second again on Tuesday for a matchup against the hosting Miami Marlins and right-hander Janson Junk, according to MLB.com. In his first year in the U.S., Murakami is off to a strong start for the Pale Hose, going 4-for-14 (.286) with three solo home runs, five runs scored, four walks, and five strikeouts in his first four games. If he continues to hit this well and display solid plate discipline, the 26-year-old left-handed hitter could hit near the top of Chicago's lineup all year long. We knew that Murakami had plenty of power -- he hit 246 home runs in eight seasons in Japan -- but we just didn't know how quickly he might adapt to major-league pitching. The early returns are very positive, and he'll have a plus matchup on Tuesday at LoanDepot Park.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks during his MLB debut on Thursday afternoon. The White Sox took a tough 14-2 loss to the reigning NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers, but Murakami was one of the few bright spots on the roster. The 26-year-old slugger would hit his first MLB long ball in the ninth frame. Murakami has spent his entire professional career overseas in the NPB before joining the White Sox this winter. Last season, Murakami hit .244 but continued to flash high-end power, launching 33 home runs and posting a .379 OPB. In 2022, Murakami enjoyed the best season of his professional career, launching 56 home runs with a .318/.458/.710 line. While his batting average may remain low, Murakami possesses high-end raw power and should contend for a 30-HR campaign with an everyday role in the Chicago starting nine.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami is slated to have a starring role to begin his debut season in the major leagues and could emerge as one of the game's top power hitters. Murakami has spent his entire professional career overseeing in the NPB and consistently flashed elite power. He enjoyed his best season back in 2022 when he launched an eye-catching 56 home runs. Since 2023, Murakami has hit at least 30 home runs in two seasons and was on pace to meet that mark once again in 2025, but he only appeared in 56 games. However, in this short stint, Murakami hit 22 long balls while holding a .273 AVG. The lone knock on his profile is his high strikeout rate that has sat above 28.0% in each of his last three seasons. In spring training, Murakami held a .276/.323/.448 line with a home run, but struck out at a 25.8% rate. While his value could drop in points leagues that punish high strikeout hitters, he does draw walks at an impressive rate, which can offset his strikeout totals. Given that he is slated to see an everyday role in the Chicago starting lineup, the rookie slugger possesses 30-HR upside if he can make a quick adjustment ot major-league pitching. He is worth starting in all 12+ team leagues in the opening week of the season.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami is expected to get some run at third base over the course of the season, per manager Will Venable. Chicago's skipper stated that the Japanese slugger will play mostly first base, though, as the complementary pieces around him fit better that way. The 26-year-old's main position over the last few seasons has been the hot corner while playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), however, he played mostly first base during his first two years in the NPB (2019-20). He's eligible for both positions in Yahoo! leagues. The left-handed slugger is known for some big power that also comes with a lot of swing and miss, so he represents a high-risk, high-reward lottery ticket toward the end of 2026 fantasy drafts. Murakami is currently ranked 222 overall in RotoBaller's latest rankings, right around his NFBC ADP of 220.