Munetaka Murakami: A Deep-Dive Biography & MLB Outlook
A Blog By Dean
You don’t stumble into 56 home runs in Japan. You don’t win a Triple Crown at 22 unless your bat speed, pitch recognition, and competitive wiring are all rarities. And you don’t go from an ice-cold World Baseball Classic to a semifinal walk-off and a homer in the final unless you’re built for big moments. That, in a nutshell, is Munetaka Murakami—a left-handed middle-order force from Kumamoto who has already carved out a place in NPB history and now sits on the runway to MLB.
Munetaka will be coming to Major League Baseball next year, so it is time for everyone to learn about him.
Origins: Kumamoto’s “Babe Ruth of Higo”
Murakami was born February 2, 2000, in Kumamoto on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. He bats left, throws right, and from an early age carried the kind of leverage and barrel speed you notice from the far side of the field. At Kyushu Gakuin High School, he piled up home runs and earned the nickname “Babe Ruth of Higo”—Higo being the old provincial name for Kumamoto.
On draft night in 2017, multiple clubs lined up on Murakami after missing out in the lottery for “prodigy” Kotaro Kiyomiya. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows won Murakami’s rights, and then did something deliberate: they handed him No. 55, Hideki Matsui’s former number.
Murakami debuted late in 2018 and then blasted into orbit in 2019: 36 home runs as a teenager, Central League Rookie of the Year, and immediate confirmation that his power translated against pros. In 2020, the approach rounded out—he posted a premium on-base percentage and slugged while tightening his swing decisions.
In 2021, Murakami’s arc intersected with team success. He led the Swallows to their first Japan Series title in two decades and, at 21, became the youngest Central League MVP. The story wasn’t just raw power anymore: it was power with zone control and situational poise.
2022: Triple Crown And 2nd MVP
The 2022 campaign is the tentpole of Murakami’s biography:
He won the Triple Crown with a line that blended average, patience, and peak power.
He launched 56 home runs, the most ever by a Japanese-born player in a single NPB season, surpassing Sadaharu Oh’s 55.
In one stretch, he homered in five consecutive plate appearances, a record that reads like a video-game line.
Culturally, he became “Murakami-sama”—“Lord Murakami”—a nickname that jumped from ballparks to mainstream television and year-end buzzword lists.
On the World Stage: Olympic Gold and WBC Redemption
Murakami’s national-team résumé already includes two pressure-cooked spotlights:
Tokyo Olympics (played 2021): he homered in the gold-medal game against Team USA, staking Japan to a lead in a 2–0 win.
World Baseball Classic 2023: after a frustrating start, he walked off Mexico with a rocket to center in the semifinal, then homered in the final against the United States.
Recent Seasons: Milestones, Volatility, and a Bumpy 2025
2023: the strikeouts climbed and the average dipped, but he still cleared 30 homers and remained an elite run producer by context-adjusted metrics.
2024: he became the youngest player in NPB history to reach 200 career homers (age 24), again leading the Central League in long balls and ribbies despite the whiffs.
2025: a minor elbow clean-up in the winter and a subsequent upper-body setback slowed him, limiting his early season before a summer return. The Swallows and player nevertheless kept the long-agreed plan on track: post after the 2025 season, with an MLB debut expected in 2026.
Defense and the Right MLB Home
Murakami has logged most of his innings at third base, with additional time at first. He has adequate hands and arm strength, limited range, and footwork that can tighten up. That suggests an MLB role that starts as 3B/1B/DH, with first base and DH likely claiming more time as the years stack up.
The Contract Path: Why 2026 Matters
In late 2022, Murakami and Yakult struck a three-year deal with an understanding: he would be posted after the 2025 season. The timing is crucial. Coming over at age 26 leaves behind the strictest international-amateur restrictions and positions him for a standard major-league contract. In practical terms, the destination club will be buying prime-age offense rather than gambling on a teenager’s projection.
Unsurprisingly, MLB executives have been in Japan frequently the last two years. Everyone does the same mental math: younger than most NPB bats who cross over + elite power track record + star-stage composure = franchise-level upside if the swing decisions hold.
Estimates right now are in the $200-$300 million range.
Year-by-Year Snapshot
2019: 36 HR, Central League Rookie of the Year.
2020: .300+ average, .400+ OBP, 25–30 HR; approach growth.
2021: 39 HR, league MVP, Japan Series champion.
2022: Triple Crown, 56 HR, record-setting heater, national buzzword status.
2023: Over 30 HR with an uptick in K%; run production remains elite.
2024: Youngest to 200 career homers; leads league in HR and RBI.
2025: Injury-interrupted, summertime return; posting to MLB still expected after the season.
Translation to MLB: The Honest Projection
Why it plays immediately
Impact contact travels. If you hit the ball hard and in the air consistently, MLB parks reward you. Murakami does both.
On-base skill gives him a floor. Even when the BABIP gods frown, he takes walks and keeps the line moving.
Big-stage reps are real. Olympic and WBC pressure isn’t MLB, but it’s not nothing; he’s already worn the heaviest jersey in his baseball life and delivered.
What sets the ceiling
Chase rate vs. MLB velocity/shape. If he resists expanding at the top and off the plate, the line could look like .250–.265 with a .350+ OBP and 30–40 HR in his peak.
Defensive home. If he sticks at third even part-time, the overall value spikes. If it’s mostly 1B/DH, the bat has to carry every year (which he’s capable of doing).
Reasonable comp neighborhood
Think Matt Olson/Kyle Schwarber range of offensive outcomes—big power, patience, and swing-and-miss that you manage rather than eliminate. Which end of that spectrum he lands on will come down to swing decisions against high ride and how often he gets to his A-swing in plus counts.
How a Team Should On-Ramp Him
Lineup slot: Hit him 3–5 from Day 1 and live with a choppy first couple of months while he calibrates to travel, velocity bands, and breaking-ball shape.
Pitch-type plan: Early, focused work against top-zone fastballs and back-foot/away spin. Give him patterns he’ll see in-game and let him practice responding, not guessing.
Defense: Keep first base reps frequent and third base reps situational. The goal is not to win a Gold Glove; it’s to keep his body fresh and his bat in the lineup 150 games a year.
Support: Pair him with a veteran right-handed contact hitter behind or ahead of him to force pitchers into the zone.