A powerful trio of sluggers is fueling Chicago's surprising surge, combining for 50 home runs and earning recognition from league experts.
Award predictions at this point in the season don’t carry much value.
But for a Chicago White Sox team that is surprising Major League Baseball, seeing multiple White Sox players featured in MLB.com’s latest MVP poll highlights just how impressive they have been as a team so far this year.
MLB.com ran another MVP poll earlier this week to see which players are currently the front-runners in their respective leagues. MLB polled 35 experts in their company, and they made up the voting for this early-season MVP ballot.
In the American League, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice, and Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz received the top-5 most votes.
While no White Sox players were featured inside the top-5, three did receive votes. Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery all received votes and were listed in the other receiving votes section.
It’s definitely a cool nod that three different White Sox players would receive MVP votes if the season ended today. All three players have no doubt played a part in Chicago’s early-season success.
Murakami has been a revelation for this White Sox team in the early going. He currently ranks second in the American League in home runs (20), fourth in walks (44), tied for fourth in runs scored (43), and third in slugging percentage (.560).
Vargas is starting to blossom into a star at the hot corner. He’s batting .241 with 15 home runs, 10 doubles, 40 RBI, and nine stolen bases, and currently owns a 2.2 WAR across his first 60 games. His 15 home runs are the most among all third basemen this year.
Montgomery has continued his strong power numbers into this season. The lefty slugger is batting .228 with 15 home runs, 11 doubles, 36 RBI, and one stolen base across 60 contests. His 2.4 WAR ranks second on the team, only behind Davis Martin (2.6).
The White Sox have enjoyed a nice start to the season, led by these three offensive sluggers. Murakami, Vargas, and Montgomery have already combined for 50 home runs, which is more than any other trio on any other team has so far.
The last White Sox player to receive an MVP vote was Luis Robert Jr. back in 2023. Robert received one sixth-place vote, two eighth-place votes, four ninth-place votes, and two 10th-place votes to finish 12th in the American League MVP voting that year.
Although there is still a lot of baseball to be played, Murakami, Vargas, and Montgomery could all receive MVP votes this season.
