Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox named the American League Rookie of the Month for May; TJ Rumfield of the Colorado Rockies named the National League Rookie of the Month for May

First baseman Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox has been voted the American League Rookie of the Month for May and first baseman TJ Rumfield of the Colorado Rockies has been voted the National League Rookie of the Month for May. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Murakami is Chicago’s eighth rookie to win the award (10th occurrence), joining Yermín Mercedes (April 2021); Luis Robert Jr. (July-August 2020); Eloy Jiménez (September 2019); José Abreu (3x: April, June & July 2014); Gordan Beckham (July 2009); Alexei Ramirez (August 2008); and Ross Gload (September 2004). Rumfield is Colorado’s ninth player to win the award, joining Nolan Jones (September/October 2023); Antonio Senzatela (April 2017); Trevor Story (April 2016); Ian Stewart (July 2008); Troy Tulowitzki (August 2007); Garrett Atkins (June 2005); Clint Barmes (April 2005); and Jason Jennings (August 2002). Murakami became the first Japanese-born player to receive the award since fellow countryman and Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga received the recognition in March/April 2024. Rumfield is the second consecutive first baseman to receive the award in the National League, following Sal Stewart’s recognition for March/April.

Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox (@ys_munetaka55)

The 26-year-old hit .244 (22-for-90) with eight homers, 18 RBI, four doubles, 19 walks, 21 runs scored, a stolen base, a .556 slugging percentage and a .382 on-base percentage in 26 games.

The Kumamoto, Japan native ranked first in homers, walks, total bases (50), and runs scored among qualified rookies; tied the rookie lead in RBI and extra-base hits (12); ranked second in slugging and OPS (.938); and ranked third in OBP.

The first baseman, who became the first White Sox rookie to record at least eight homers and 19 walks in a month in March/April, accomplished the feat again in May, tallying eight homers and 19 walks in the month. Murakami also joined Shohei Ohtani as the only Japanese-born players to
record at least eight homers and 19 walks in multiple months.

The 2019 Central League Rookie of the Year Award winner in Japan became the seventh Japanese-born rookie to record 50-or-more total bases in a month, and the first to do so with at least eight homers – a feat he accomplished in March/April and May of this season.

Murakami played his 55th career game on May 27th, recording his 20th homer of the year in the seventh inning. With the blast, he tied Gary Sánchez for the third-most home runs through a player’s first 55 career games, a mark that trails only Wally Berger’s 21 in 1930 and Cody Bellinger’s 22 in 2017.

TJ Rumfield, Colorado Rockies (@tjrumfield)
The 26-year-old hit .310 (27-for-87) with four homers, 12 RBI, three doubles, 10 walks, 13 runs scored, a .483 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base percentage in 25 games.

The Richmond, Virginia native ranked first in OBP among qualified rookies; third in OPS (.883) and batting average; tied for third in home runs; sixth in hits; seventh in total bases (42); eighth in RBI; tied for eighth in runs scored; and ninth in walks.

The 12th round selection in the 2021 Draft joined Ben Petrick (September/October 1999) and Josh Rutledge (August 2012) and the only rookies in Rockies’ history to record a month with a batting average of at least .310 while hitting at least four homers and recording at least 12 RBI.

Through May, the MLB Draft League alumni’s six three-hit games lead the Rockies, all rookies, and are tied for sixth-most in the Majors. Rumfield’s 57 hits and 14 multi-hit games are tied for the Club lead.

Among all qualified rookies, Rumfield’s 14.9 strikeout percentage is tied-for-third lowest with Sam Antonacci of the White Sox, trailing only Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle and Cleveland’s Chase DeLauter.

Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included second baseman Travis Bazzana (.311, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 8 2B, 13 BB, 13 R, .476 SLG) and starting pitcher Parker Messick (3-1, 2.73 ERA, 6 GS, 33.0 IP, 31 H, 5 HR, 11 BB, 36 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; catcher Samuel Basallo (.338, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 6 2B, 1 3B, 6 BB, 13 R, .597 SLG) of the Baltimore Orioles; starting pitcher Payton Tolle (2-1, 2.35 ERA, 5 GS, 30.2 IP, 20 H, 2 HR, 6 BB, 31 SO) of the Boston Red Sox; starting pitcher Walbert Ureña (2-1, 1.64 ERA, 6 GS, 33.0 IP, 21 H, 2 HR, 15 BB, 28 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; and catcher Brandon Valenzuela (.258, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 2B, 12 BB, 8 R, .378 OBP) of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Carson Benge (.306, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 7 2B, 9 BB, 19 R, .426 SLG) of the New York Mets; shortstop Konnor Griffin (.306, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 2B, 1 3B, 8 BB, 20 R, .459 SLG) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; starting pitcher Logan Henderson (2-1, 2.14 ERA, 4 GS, 21.0 IP, 15 H, 2 HR, 5 BB, 27 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; and relief pitcher Kyle Hurt (1-0, 0.75 ERA, 12 G, 12.0 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 14 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.