White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami finally hit something other than a home run after record-setting start

To go along with those numbers, Murakami has walked 28 times. His excellent plate discipline has given the rookie a .240/.377/.584 slash line so far, making him a younger version of Kyle Schwarber.

That was thought to be the best case scenario for Murakami when he hit the free-agent market. Despite the excellent power and batting eye he displayed in Japan, there were significant concerns about Murakami’s ability to make enough contact — and hit hard fastballs — once he came over to MLB. Those concerns very likely led to Murakami signing a much smaller contract — two years and $34 million — than expected.

While Murakami’s contact rate and strikeout rate are high, hitting high velocity hasn’t been an issue. With his home run off Soriano on Monday, Murakami became the only player in MLB this season to homer off multiple pitches over 98.1 mph, per Sarah Langs. Overall, he’s hitting .270 with a .714 slugging percentage against fastballs.

Thanks to Murakami’s contributions, the White Sox are performing much better than expected to open the season. Following Monday’s 6-0 win, the White Sox are 17-18 on the season, and sit just a half game back of the AL Central division lead.

Whether the White Sox can keep up that momentum likely depends on how well Murakami can adjust once pitchers have a better scouting report on him. While a slump might be inevitable given the nature of baseball, Murakami has already shown the ability to make big adjustments, offering some hope that his hot start is an accurate representation of the player he’ll be moving forward.