White Sox climb rankings as Munetaka Murakami chases home run lead

Over the last few years, there has not been much to write home about when talking about the Chicago White Sox. They were starting their rebuild, and getting wins was hard to come by. 

However, things are a bit different this season. They are further in their rebuild, but what is most different about this team this year is who is leading the offense. 

Munetaka Murakami has been playing like his hair is on fire in his first season in MLB. Not only is he the best hitter on the White Sox, but he is going bomb for bomb with Aaron Judge this season. 

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White Sox climb rankings as Munetaka Murakami chases home run lead

Going into Monday's matchups, Munetaka Murakami has hit 15 home runs thus far. This ranks him second, only one short of tying Aaron Judge and the always-dangerous Kyle Schwarber. 

That has helped the White Sox to a 19-21 record, which is good for second in the American League Central. And while the club still has some work to do, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter bumps them up from No. 21 to No. 19 in his latest power rankings piece. 

"It took the White Sox 61 games before they reached 19 wins last season, so this has not only been a more entertaining team to watch, but a more successful one by a wide margin. With two more long balls last week, Munetaka Murakami is up to 15 home runs on the year, one behind Aaron Judge for the AL lead."

With Murakami, this is a far better team than they were last year. Now, there is still some work to be done on the pitching side of things, but fans should feel a lot better about this team this season than they did at any point last year. 

And some exciting prospects are waiting to make a name for themselves, like Braden Montgomery. 

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