Munetaka Murakami Expected to Make Waves in the MLB Soon
The greatness of Shohei Ohtani knows no bounds, and it does seem that there are a lot of expectations among Japanese stars coming in as Munetaka Murakami is now slated to be the next big icon among Japanese stars as the superstar slugger is now rumored to be heading into the MLB stage by 2026, which means that he will be another hyped star to look out for.
From Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki have been also hyped to be impressive performers in the game, and they have proven themselves to be quite the boost for their respective teams — with Sasaki expected to be another massive hitter in the game heading into 2025 season at this point in time.
Murakami is now starting to gain a lot of attention as he is expected to be the next big star in 2026. Two years ago, he hit a total of 56 home runs in the NPB, breaking the legendary Sadaharu Oh’s record for most in a season by a Japanese-born player. That is something worth looking out for, and it cannot be denied that his hype heading into the season will be quite spectacular.
A Flurry of Japanese Stars
Just a few days ago, Ichiro Suzuki just became the first Japanese player who was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. The wave of talent has been really great so far, and it says a lot about how the game is expected to unfold on their hands when they enter the league to a whole new level. So far, Ohtani leads the pack of Japanese stars who are coming into the league with high expectations.
After all, a massive franchise in the Dodgers winning the World Series led by a Japanese star is great news, and it says a lot about how Murakami is also starting to get the big hype that fans may want to ride on as early as the offseason before the hype begins to take flight now more than ever.
It is worth noting that Roki Sasaki was the consensus top pitcher in Japan, and it was not even clear that the MLB clubs would even be seeking to play him in the season. However, the global brand of the Dodgers are quite the one that no one would ever dare to forget, and it seems that Muramaki is expected to take his game to the next level when he arrives in the MLB as well.
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Murakami is slated to turn 25 this year, and yet he’s already won the Central League MVP twice, became an All-Star four times, and a Triple Crown winner. He even led the Tokyo Yakult Swallows to the Japan Series in 2021, and even brought Team Japan to a historic finish in the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
So far, Murakami is already one of the best hitters in Japan, having a 56-homer season and a total of five seasons where he has at least logged 30 home runs. For comparison, no other player has done that in the MLB, with Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Robinson, Eddie Mathews and Jimmie Foxx as the only MLB players with even four 30-homer seasons before age 25.
All of that, and yet Murakami is still so young – which means that his exceptional production and star value will definitely have more in store for the years to come when he enters the Major Leagues – and a peak version of himself is expected to make a lot of noise when he enters the league.
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