Munetaka

Murakami

He will not stop. As usual, Murakami’s long ball was a sight to behold. He somehow got his bat head on a changeup from Miles Mikolas that was spotted well on the low-and-outside corner and launched it 415 feet over the center field fence. This was his sixth home run in his last seven games to bring his total up to 11 on the season. That pushed Murakami into a tie with Yordan Alvarez for the most in the league. We’re witnessing a legendary power surge from someone who’s becoming must-watch television. Just continue to be mindful of his swing-and-miss and high strikeout rate, as they could still derail what looks like it could be a magical rookie season.

Murakami had a chance against a homer-prone Paul Sewald after Andrew Benintendi went deep to give the White Sox the lead in the ninth, but he managed only a 278-foot fly. Murakami did single earlier in the contest, so at least he’s sitting on a six-game hitting streak.

Murakami has now homered in five straight games. The 26-year-old is up to 10 on the season, and he’s plated 19 runs in just 24 games. There’s so much swing-and-miss in Murakami’s profile that fantasy managers have to deal with some less-than-spectacular stuff, but the power and approach are so good that it really might not matter.

Murakami had another big day at the plate, starting with a single and a run scored in the first inning. He then took Merrill Kelly deep for a solo homer in the second. It was his fourth straight game with a home run and ninth of the season. The 26-year-old slugger is hitting .234/.394/.584 with 18 runs scored and 17 RBI across 99 plate appearances.

Murakami clearly enjoyed playing in Sacramento. He homered in all three games against the Athletics, with this one a deep shot to right off Jeffrey Springs; one of four roundtrippers Springs allowed. The 26-year-old has been the three-true-outcome player many expected, as he’s now slashing .208/.376/.542 over the first 22 games with eight homers and 16 RBI.

Murakami took a middle-middle fastball from Elvis Alvarado and hit it 431 feet to center. It was a bad pitch, but it was a 98-mph bad pitch, and given the questions about Murakami’s ability to hit MLB velocity, it was an encouraging development. Murakami is batting .200/.361/.477 with six homers through 83 plate appearances.

It’s a routine day off for Murakami, but it probably doesn’t hurt that the Orioles are pitching left-hander Trevor Rogers. Murakami has gone 1-for-6 with four strikeouts in eight plate appearances against lefties this season, so that could be something to watch as the season goes on. The 26-year-old has plenty of power, but is also hitting .206 with a 31 percent strikeout rate so far this season. Lenyn Sosa will start at first base and bat second with Miguel Vargas shifting to DH, and Tanner Murray entering the lineup at third base and batting sixth.

Murakami brought the first run of the game home on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. With a runner on in the sixth, he gave the White Sox the lead with a two-run blast off Brendon Little, a 431-foot shot at 111 mph off the bat. The 26-year-old slugger is already up to four homers early in his MLB career. That power has come while striking out in roughly a third of his plate appearances so far.

Murakami’s run-scoring single up the middle in the – carried a 106.2 mph exit velocity. He also struck out twice in this one. The 26-year-old offseason import has pretty much come as advertised in the early portion of his White Sox debut, whiffing frequently while also making occasional hard contact. He’s recorded at least one hit in five straight contests to open his major-league career, batting .278 (5-for-18) with three homers and four RBI.

Murakami finds himself in the prime spot on Chicago manager Will Venable’s lineup card for the second consecutive game. The 26-year-old offseason acquisition has homered in three straight games to begin his major-league career. It’s an extremely small sample size, but the over-the-fence pop is very real. The biggest question is going to be how Murakami adjusts once the league starts to get a book on him. For now, he looks like a viable mixed-league option in all fantasy formats, even with the strikeout concerns.