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Chicago White Sox rookie infielder Munetaka Murakami hasn’t gotten off to a plausible start: He’s off to a scorching hot one.
Here are Murakami’s first 53 games in MLB by the numbers (230 plate appearances):
1: Murakami is first among MLB rookies in home runs (18), RBIs (37), slugging percentage (.540), OPS (.914), runs scored (37) and walks (41). He also leads the White Sox in each of the aforementioned categories, as well as in on-base percentage (.374).
3A: Murakami has collected three or more hits in four games.
3B: He ranks third among rookies with 1.6 wins above replacement.
3C: Despite the absurd display of power, Murakami has only hit three doubles.
4: Murakami’s 18 home runs through his first 53 games tie him for the fourth-most homers to start a career over that span, according to MLB.
18: Murakami leads the American League with 18 home runs, which is second in MLB overall.
37: His 37 RBIs rank fourth in the AL.
41: He is fifth in MLB with 41 hits.
48: Murakaki played both first base and third base in Japan (2018-25), but he primarily played the hot corner. But with the White Sox, he has made 48 starts at first base, three as the team’s designated hitter and zero at third base.
76: Of course, the other side of that tremendous power can be a tremendous number of strikeouts, as Murakami is tied for fourth in the MLB with 76 strikeouts.
97: Murakami ranks in the 97th percentile in MLB in average exit velocity (94.0 mph), according to Statcast.
98: He ranks in the 98th percentile of the sport in hard-hit percentage (58.0%) and slugging percentage (20.5%), according to Statcast.
139: Murakami’s on-base percentage (.374) is .139 higher than his batting average (.235).
155: Murakaki leads the White Sox with a 155 OPS+.
914: His .914 OPS ranks 12th in MLB.
