The Milwaukee Brewers swept the Chicago White Sox to open up the 2026 MLB season. However, Chicago has arguably the most intriguing rookie of the campaign in Munetaka Murakami, who hit a home run in each of those three games. After there was concern this offseason over how his bat would translate from the Nippon Professional Baseball to the major leagues, Murakami is making those issues look silly so far. While it’s a confidence boost for the 26-year-old to be having early success, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes that major league pitching will adjust to the White Sox slugger, and it will be up to him to adjust to sustain this success over the rest of the season. “He had three homers in three games against the Brewers,” Rosenthal said on the March edition of “Fair Territory.” “You want to see it play out. We are in the small‑sample overreaction phase of the season, the opening week. But again, it’s very encouraging, and there’s no question he has power. That was not a question coming over from Japan. “So the question will be, as major‑league pitchers adjust to him, how will he adjust in kind and whether he will be able to sustain — not a 162‑homer, 162‑game performance, but a level that is comparable to what he was able to do in Japan.”
White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami Joins a Select Group After Hot Start
Murakami became just the fourth player in MLB history to hit a home run in each of his first three career games. He joins a select group that includes Chase DeLauter (2026), Kyle Lewis (2019), and Trevor Story (2016), per ESPN Insight. Furthermore, Rosenthal didn’t skip over the concerns teams had about Murakami, which is why the White Sox were able to jump in and land the Japanese standout to a two-year contract. “At the start of the offseason, the predictions for Murakami in free agency turned out to be much higher than what he actually got from the White Sox, and there were some questions about swing‑and‑miss, questions about defense, and questions, as they always are, about Japanese players adapting to major league pitching. Well, so far, so good.”
Munetaka Murakami Is Also Taking His Walks at the Plate
Murakami isn’t just slugging in these first three games with Chicago; he’s hitting for average and taking his walks. The White Sox’s emerging star has a .333 batting average with four walks, three homers, three RBIs, and four runs scored in three games, per StatMuse. Nonetheless, the individual success hasn’t translated into team success, as the White Sox lost all three games in which Murakami hit a home run against the Brewers. Chicago will look to get into the win column for the first time this season as their road trip continues against the Miami Marlins in a three-game set from March 30 to April 1. After six games on the road to start this campaign, the White Sox will head home for their opener against the Toronto Blue Jays beginning on April 2.
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