A year ago, when the news first broke that Munetaka Murakami was likely headed to the Major Leagues in 2026, the Japanese slugger was one of the great enigmas of the baseball world.

Murakami had Ruthian power … and Joey Gallo-esque strikeout problems. He had superstar upside , and one of the greatest hitting seasons in history under his belt -- Murakami's 2022 season in Nippon Professional Baseball, when he hit 56 home runs and won a batting Triple Crown. But he was striking out more and more, and even though he kept crushing homers, he hadn't replicated the all-around hitting success of that historic season in the two seasons after.

Fast-forward a year. Murakami is coming. MLB teams are preparing for the 25-year-old lefty slugger to be posted by his NPB club, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows

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