White Sox southpaw dispels rumors of Munetaka Murakami's strikeouts

White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay dispels rumors that Munetaka Murakami will be a bust 

"He's got probably the most power I've ever seen," Kay said on "Foul Territory." "I faced him a bunch my first year. I only got to face him one time this year, because, you know, he had a injury, but, I mean, he's got so much power. I don't see, you know, a lot of people obviously were skeptical, skeptical about, you know, what he can do and in the big leagues, but I don't see why. You know, his game won't translate to the big leagues."

Despite playing in 69 games (the lowest of his career) due to injury last season, the 25-year-old still managed to mash 24 home runs and drive in 52 RBI in 220 at-bats (263 plate appearances). 

Munetaka Murakami should figure things out once he’s over in the major leagues 

Teams and opposing pitchers won’t be afraid to see what Murakami will bring to the big leagues, especially since he is now joining one of the worst teams in baseball. Despite Murakami coming over with a high strikeout rate, he has shown the ability to get on base, walking over 100+ times three times (118 walks as his career high), and has a career on-base percentage of .394. 

Murakami is likely going to bat in the middle of manager Will Venable's order to protect Montgomery and Lenyn Sosa, who was the team leader in home runs at 22, which was almost triple what he had in 2024 (eight). Murakami will get pitches to hit — including high 90s fastballs, something it is said he struggles with — to prove his doubters wrong and show he was worth more than what he signed for.