Overview
- Munetaka Murakami shares the Major League lead at 12 home runs with Aaron Judge, with Yordan Alvarez one back at 11.
- His current pace points to roughly 56 homers, which would surpass Shohei Ohtani’s single-season mark of 55 by a Japanese-born player.
- The power looks real under the hood, with a 22% barrel rate and a 62% hard-hit rate reported in recent analyses.
- Scouts note he has whiffed more against sliders, curveballs, splitters, and changeups, so pitchers may test him with more spin and offspeed.
- The White Sox signed him this winter to a two-year, $34 million deal, and voices like Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly are urging a long-term extension now.