After going 5-1 last week and taking the series opener against the Angels on Monday night, the White Sox have surged into sole possession of an AL Wild Card spot. But has the national media taken notice of the team’s recent play?
Here’s how major publications view the squad in this week’s MLB power rankings.
MLB.com: 20
Previously: 28
Don’t forget, in the midst of Muneamania, that Munetaka Murakami’s teammate is nearly matching him homer for homer. Colson Montgomery actually homered in the same game as Murakami seven times in the White Sox’s first 35 games. According to the great Sarah Langs – who had a birthday this week! – that’s the most by any teammate duo in their team’s first 35 games of a season in MLB history.
Released on Sunday, May 3rd.
Bleacher Report: 21
Previously: No. 27
Munetaka Murakami hit another two home runs this week, bringing his total to a dozen. But Chicago’s wholly unexpected leading slugger of the week was Drew Romo. Called up just 10 days ago to take Reese McGuire‘s roster spot as the backup catcher, Romo entered the week with zero home runs in his 61 plate appearances in the majors. Nevertheless, he homered in back-to-back ABs in Tuesday’s win over the Angels and hit a third one on Sunday against the Padres. Fun little note amid this franchise’s best week in a long time.
Kerry Miller
Released on Monday, May 4th.
USA Today: 26
Previously: No. 30
Noah Schultz struck out eight in six innings, remains very tall.
Released on Monday, May 4th.
CBS Sports: 22
Previously: No. 26
The White Sox are very likely to remain inconsistent. Sometimes, inconsistency is maddening. For White Sox fans who went through 2024, this team’s ability to get hot on a dime must be a breath of fresh air. And hey, they are only 1 ½ games out of first.
Released on Monday, May 4th.
FanSided: 23
Previously: No. 28
Okay, I am on the White Sox bandwagon. If Munetaka Murakami won’t get you there, I don’t don’t what will. Murakami is on pace to break Shohei Ohtani‘s record for the most home runs for a Japanese-born player. I understand it’s may, but Murakami’s accomplishments are worth celebrating. Chicago is still a few years away, but assuming they call up Colson Montgomery in the not-so-distant future, the White Sox lineup could be scary. You can add me to the list of White Sox believers, especially in a putrid AL Central division.
Released on Monday, May 4th.
Sox On 35th Editor’s Note: Colson Montgomery was called up to the Major Leagues on July 4, 2025. We’re hopeful that Chris is referring to Braden Montgomery.
NBC Sports: 25
Previously: No. 30
I wanted to give some credit to the White Sox, who are 10-5 over their last 15 games. Munetaka Murakami is understandably getting most of the attention nationally, but Sean Burke (2.72 ERA) and Davis Martin (1.95 ERA) have been outstanding to begin the year.
D.J. Short
Released on Monday, May 4th.
FanGraphs: 24
Previously: No. 30
Released on Monday, May 4th by Jake Mailhot.
The Athletic: 24
Previously: No. 30
After spending most of the winter on the sidelines, with the potential of returning to Nippon Professional Baseball staring at him, Murakami has proved that the doubters were only partially correct. Sure, he strikes out a ton, but he also takes his walks and his power is as good as anyone in baseball, finishing April second in homers behind Aaron Judge.
Not only is Murakami an April All-Star, but he should be headlining this year’s Home Run Derby.
The same way that a rookie Judge entered with 30 home runs and rookie Cody Bellinger with 25 in 2017, and Pete Alonso with 27 in 2019, Murakami should be the headlining freshman for a contest dedicated to launching baseballs into the stratosphere.
Johnny Flores Jr.
Released on Tuesday, May 5th.
Sox On 35th Editor’s Note: The remaining rankings were released late last week. We will update these publications once their new rankings become available.
ESPN: 29
Previously Ranked: 29
All the attention — rightfully so — has been on Munetaka Murakami ‘s home run binge. But the White Sox have received nice contributions from two other foundational young players in their infield: Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery. Vargas, a headliner in the trade that sent Michael Kopech to the Dodgers in 2024, has struggled to find his footing in the big leagues over these past four years but is currently OPS’ing .805. Montgomery, a first-round pick out of high school in 2021, has picked up right where he left off as a rookie last year, slashing .236/.336/.495 with eight home runs and solid shortstop defense.
Alden Gonzalez/ESPN
Released on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Baseball America: 27
Previously Ranked: 28
The White Sox are seeing contributions from internally developed players. Noah Schultz’s fastball-slider combination has translated well to MLB.
Matt Eddy/Baseball America
Released on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Sports Illustrated: 25
Previously Ranked: N/A
As a group, Chicago’s outfielders rank 28th in the league in fWAR (-0.3), with the fifth-lowest slugging percentage (.341). None of the team’s three most often-used outfielders—Andrew Benintendi, Luisangel Acuña and Tristan Peters—has been close to league average offensively. The trio has combined for five extra-base hits, and while Benintendi has four of them, he’s also been one of the game’s worst defenders over the last four years.
Ryan Phillips,Nick Selbe & Will Laws/Sports Illustraed
Released on Friday, May 1, 2026.
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Featured Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
