Munetaka Murakami
- The White Sox’s roster as it stands starts at 1B · 470 PA · 2.2 WAR in the role
- Injured list 2026: Right hamstring strain (May 30–Jul 10)
- Trade read Unlikely to be traded: Signed in Dec 2025 (2 yr, $34M (2026-27)): clubs rarely move a player they just committed to.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 544 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 167 | .328 | .366 | 35% | 19% | 20% | +2.02 | +0.84 |
| RHP | 377 | .367 | .345 | 36% | 14% | 23% | +0.98 | +0.26 |
- Attack angle
- 19.5° (44% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −1.0°
- Swing length
- 7.9 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 45%
- Pull-air %
- 21.2%
- Hard-hit %
- 57.2%
- Slash · wRC+
- .207/.347/.478 · 129
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage down and in (+3.8 vs. league per 100; 1.8 standard errors on 90 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest middle-in (−2.4), but only 1.1 standard errors from average on 107 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,178 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Murakami: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | Esmerlyn Valdez PIT · ’04 | .329 | 1.4 | 1.6 | Pre-arb |
| 28 | Nick Kurtz ATH · ’03 | .374 | 2.6 | 3.3 | Pre-arb |
| 20 | Aaron Judge NYY · ’92 | .398 | 2.0 | 3.6 | Signed $40.0M |
| 15 | Kyle Schwarber PHI · ’93 | .366 | 2.9 | 2.0 | Signed $33.0M |
| 11 | Griffin Conine MIA · ’97 | .368 | 1.8 | 1.3 | Pre-arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | −1 | 0 | −1.8 | −1.8 | 4,398 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 1B in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−4 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among 1Bs)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | 258 | −3.2 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Charlotte Knights | 26 | 2 | 8 PA | 8 PA · .286/.375/.429 · 0 HR · 25.0% K · 12.5% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant