Japanese rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami's performance has significantly slipped since the start of August, and his decline has come at the worst time. 

The Chicago White Sox are sitting only half a game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race.

Since the start of August, he has recorded a measly .131 batting average, a .277 OBP, a .301 SLG and an inflated 41.8 percent strikeout rate. Across 14 games in September, he is hitting only .098 with a .436 OPS.

Compared to the first half of the season, Murakami was slashing .232/.371/.540 across his first 211 at-bats and crushed 20 home runs and 42 RBI, earning his first AL All-Star selection. 

Munetaka Murakami has been STRUGGLING since the start of August

.131 AVG
.277 OBP
.301 SLG
41.8 K%

Murakami (77) and Colson Montgomery (72) are the only hitters in the sport with more than 54 strikeouts over that period pic.twitter.com/MJUDKs09Zb

Factors contributing to Munetaka Murakami's slump

In the first half of the season, Murakami was sidelined for six weeks due to a hamstring injury in late May. But his slump hasn't exactly been impacted by the injury. After returning from the injury list on Aug. 10, he played 17 games in July and boasted an OPS over .900 with a batting average of .258. It wasn't until a few weeks later that his performance started to dip. 

Pitchers have made notable adjustments against him, targeting him with high-velocity fastballs as well as breaking pitches. But even despite his struggles, he's continued to uphold a stellar walk rate of 17 percent that sits in the 100th percentile.

But in the White Sox's tough 7-6 loss against the Guardians on Tuesday, Murakami was held hitless, with a walk and four strikeouts. In Monday's 7-3 victory over the Guardians, he recorded three strikeouts and a walk. 

But the 26-year-old still possesses elite power and ranks second in home runs among rookies with 31, behind Kazuma Okamoto's leading 33 home runs. Which is why, in late August, talks surrounded the White Sox being interested in signing him for the long haul. With only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, it will be vital for Murakami to work through his struggles and rediscover his dominance. The White Sox will need his resiliency ahead of a pivotal stretch in order to make a deep postseason run.