Yahoo Sports senior MLB analysts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman are joined by Yuri Karasawa to discuss the four-time NPB All-Star’s pending move to Major League Baseball and how he could adjust to the majors. Check out the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
I want to know more about Murakami, the character.
Is this someone who, as a teenager, was like Bryce Harper?
Where he was on magazine covers as a teen, or Did he just kind of come out of nowhere as this Big swinging slugger?
He immediately raked on the farm, the miners here in 2018.
And then, um, his rookie year, he hit 36 home runs.
So.
Immediately, it was clear this guy is, um, Something special to hit that many homers as a teenager, uh, And then he was already on the Olympic team by 2021.
So, really, ever since this guy’s been, um, 1920 years old, He’s started to get recognized in Japan, and he quickly surpassed his counterparts.
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Uh, Kiyomiya and Yasuda, just in terms of, you know, putting up just raw production, You know, in the power department.
Give us a little bit of background on his defensive profile and trajectory.
He’s been a third baseman for basically his entire career because he played in the Central League, which until 2027, does not have a designated hitter.
So, uh, Murakami has been forced to play defense, and as, As Im sure everyones read in the scouting reports, things like footwork, Mobility and range not quite there at third base.
He does project much more as a first baseman.
Or even a DH.
From an offensive perspective, The name that popped up for Jordan and me as we started kind of digging in a little bit, was Nick Kurtz.
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So, I guess my question is this.
The current approach and swing mechanics are not viable.
Like, if he rolls into MLB and doesn’t change a thing, it will be closer to bad.
Joey Gallo than it will be Nick Kurtz.
Do you think he is capable of making those adjustments based on what you have seen from him over the years in Japan?
I think he’s quite capable of the adjustment.
He’s only 25 years old, Going to be 26 in his first MLB season, and I actually love the Nick Kurtz comparison.
He hasnt really had to make adjustments in MPB, right?
Because if you’re OPSing 1,000 each year, like, why would you change anything?
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Um, so that doesn’t mean he can’t; it just means he hasn’t had to.
You know, coming off the high of 2022, when you’ve won back-to-back MVPs, When you’ve won a Japan Series, when you just set a single-season Japanese-born record.
Home run record.
What else is there to really strive for?
Also, at the World Baseball Classic, some people mentioned that perhaps he, He got imposter syndrome almost from being next to Ohtani and being like, Oh, I’m not as good as this guy, even though I think in terms of power, You could argue that Murakami has as much as Otani, certainly in MPB, Murakami is a better hitter than Ohtani was, uh, in MPB.