Murakami's Power Surge: Sox vs D-backs

0:00On April 22nd, Chicago White Sox, third baseman Munitaka Murakami, is turning heads in his first big league season. The 26-year-old Japanese star jumped from Japan's Yakuosualos after eight strong years there. He's batting just 0.208 so far, but his on-base plus lugging sits at 0.918 with eight homers already. Arizona Diamondback's manager, Tori Lavolo, has been tracking him closely ahead of their three-game series this week at Chasefield. Lavolo actually played for the swallows back in the day, so he feels a special connection and is hyped to see Murakami compete from the other dugout. Fans and scouts are buzzing about Murakami's raw power, drawing stray comparisons to Philly's Kyle Schwarber. His isolated power is a massive 0.333, not far off Schwarber's current mark. Lavolo digs his all-fields approach and sees superstar potential if he tightens up the strikeouts. Right-hander, Merrill Kelly starts for Arizona on Tuesday night, and he knows Murakami well got tagged for a monster homer by him in the 20.

1:0423 World Baseball Classic, when the slugger was just 23. The D-backs better watch out for that high octane swing as they tangle with the socks, could make for some fireworks under the desert lights. That's your update from MLB News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.