The Buzz — Saturday, August 1

Munetaka Murakami

The take Murakami multi-HR streak as White Sox lead AL Central

Seven games, three home runs, a .714 slugging percentage — and it started with a bobblehead day. Murakami hit two out and drove in a career-high six on July 26, snapping a 13-game, 42-at-bat drought, and kept going: his 23rd on July 29 to tie the Yankees in the eighth, his 24th on July 31 to give the Sox a 4-0 lead on the Rays. Over those seven games he is hitting .321 with seven RBIs and a .424 on-base percentage across 28 at-bats.

The .240 average undersells him. He lost six weeks to a hamstring strain, returned July 10, and the real line is 24 home runs, a .381 OBP, and a .924 OPS in roughly 73 games. The White Sox are 58-51 and in first place in the AL Central, and that bat is why.

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Shohei Ohtani

The take Ohtani sits one game for knee soreness then returns

The knee grabbed again, and the Dodgers held him out Thursday. He walked back into the leadoff spot Friday and hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth — his 24th of the season. The inflammation has lingered since June 11, and he has not pitched since July 3, but the bat has not cratered: 10 home runs and a .526 slugging percentage in 36 games since the issue surfaced. The soreness is managed, not worsening. One day off, one loud return.

Shohei Ohtani cards on eBay →(paid link)

Pete Crow-Armstrong

The take Elite bat stats and MVP rankings drive buzz

June was the month that turned a good player into an MVP candidate, and the crowd is not overstating it. Crow-Armstrong hit .381 with 11 home runs, 40 hits, 17 walks, and 8 stolen bases in 26 games — NL Player of the Month, and a slash line that reads like a typo. The season since: .283 with 24 home runs, 63 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, and a .915 OPS in 414 at-bats. As of July 23 he was the only player in baseball with 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals, leading FanGraphs WAR at 6.3 and topping the sport in Fielding Run Value at plus-20.

The last 30 games cooled to .268, but the power held — seven more home runs and a .571 slugging mark. June was not a mirage; it was the ceiling showing through. The defense and the baserunning do not slump, and without Ohtani this is the NL MVP.

Pete Crow-Armstrong cards on eBay →(paid link)

Shane McClanahan

The take McClanahan on IL with back tightness hits Rays deadline plans

The arm is fine. It is the back — and the timing is what makes it bite.

McClanahan left Thursday's start against the Rangers in the fourth inning with left mid-back tightness, his four-seamer bleeding velocity in real time: 95.6 mph season average, then 94.9, then 93.8. The Rays placed him on the 15-day injured list Friday, and Neander said he would likely miss two starts. On a pitcher coming back from Tommy John surgery and a triceps nerve issue that cost him two full seasons, any IL trip sounds an alarm — but this is the same back tightness that sidelined him in 2021 and 2023, and both times he returned without a long absence.

The problem is the calendar. Tampa Bay is 64-44, the top team in the American League, and the trade deadline is Aug. 3. McClanahan has a 3.09 ERA across 99 innings and 20 starts — a genuine frontline arm in a rotation already shopping for depth. Two missed starts is manageable. Two missed starts with the deadline two days away is a front office deciding with one fewer answer than it wanted. The Rays were already linked to Tarik Skubal. This raises the urgency; it does not change the plan.

Shane McClanahan cards on eBay →(paid link)

Max Clark

The take Top prospect's three-hit MLB debut draws buzz

Twenty-one years old, batting seventh in his first big-league game, and Max Clark went 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, two runs, and an RBI in a 13-1 Tigers win over the Athletics on July 31. He walked in his first plate appearance, singled for his first hit, and doubled twice — once in a seven-run eighth. He is the fourth-youngest Tiger with a three-hit debut in franchise history at 21 years and 222 days. A.J. Hinch says he is the everyday center fielder now. One game is not a career, but the opportunity is real.

Max Clark cards on eBay →(paid link)