White Sox pitcher sees Kyle Schwarber traits in Japanese teammate

Chicago White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay believes teammate Munetaka Murakami's offensive ceiling in MLB could look like Kyle Schwarber. Kay is confident in Murakami's elite raw power despite swing and miss concerns.

Kay and Murakami are new teammates in Chicago after both signed multi-year deals in December. They competed against each other in the NPB last season.

Kay shared his perspective on Murakami during Tuesday's episode of "Baseball isn't Boring" podcast, hosted by Rob Bradford and Courtney Finnicum.

"I don’t see why he can’t be like a Kyle Schwarber type hit 30, 40, 50 home runs," Kay said (Timestamp: 15:47). "His power is insane. He's got some of the most power I've ever seen. Obviously, there are questions about swing and miss, but he'll adjust. He's still only 25 years old. He’ll be fine. I think his game will translate well over here."

Kyler Schwarber is the designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies. The 32-year-old slugger is known for his exceptional power hitting and walk rate. Schwarber joined the Phillies on a four-year contract in 2022. He re-signed for a five-year contract on Dec. 9.

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White Sox pitcher gives scouting report on Munetaka Murakami

In the same conversation with Rob Bradford on the "Baseball isn't Boring" podcast, White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay said that opposing pitchers in NPB actively tried to survive against Munetaka Murakami rather than challenge him. Kay admitted he also used the tactic.

"He was in our league, so I faced his team my first year there nine different times, which was not fun," Kay said (Timestamp: 16:49). "He did pretty well off me. Thankfully, I was able to keep him in the ballpark every time, but yeah, he had a lot of singles and doubles off me, for sure."

Kay also broke down the pitcher's approach against Murekami. He explained why challenging him directly was not an option.

"They had a pretty good offensive team, so you just didn’t want him to beat you," he added. "Obviously, he’s got insane power. We just tried to pitch around him as much as possible, keep guys off base in front of him so you didn’t have to give him anything good to hit. And thankfully, I was able to not be one of his victims."

.The White Sox pitcher acknowledges that Murekami didn't regularly face pitches with 95 miles per hour velocity like those in the MLB. However, he doesn't think it will matter much. Kay pointed out Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki's success to prove his point.

Edited by Safeer M S