Vibes had been at an all-time high on the Southside of Chicago until Munetaka Murakami was taken out of Friday’s game with an injury. Now, the Chicago White Sox won that game anyway, but it was later revealed that Murakami had suffered a hamstring strain, resulting in an IL stint that’s expected to knock him out of action for at least one month.

Murakami had been the driving force behind a resurgent White Sox season. The 20 home runs he had hit in his first 57 games trailed only Kyle Schwarber, and he ranked just outside of the top five in the majors in RBI. Even with lots of strikeouts and a low-ish average, Murakami had been one of the most productive hitters in the sport. Losing him is a major blow to their postseason chances. If the White Sox are going to hang around without their superstar, they’ll need these players to step up.

3B Miguel Vargas

Murakami has gotten most of the attention, and rightfully so, but Miguel Vargas has been breaking out alongside him this season. Friday night was further proof of that. With the White Sox down by a run in the tenth inning, Vargas won the game with a walk-off two-run homer, sending the crowd into a frenzy. For the White Sox to stay in the postseason race, they’re going to need many more of those big swings from Vargas.

The 26-year-old has quietly built an All-Star case thus far, slashing .235/.365/.485 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI. He’s even stolen nine bases in nine tries. Vargas has been an on-base machine with surprising power and has even found ways to contribute on the base paths. With Murakami out, the White Sox will need even more from him.

SS Colson Montgomery

Murakami is the most prolific power bat on this White Sox roster, but Colson Montgomery isn’t too far behind. Montgomery has hit 13 home runs in 57 games this season after he hit 21 home runs in just 71 games last season. He’s hit 34 home runs in just 128 career MLB games, showing the kind of elite power he has. That power with his defense has made him one of MLB’s best shortstops thus far.

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old has gone 12 games without a home run and he’s hit .191 in those contests. As good a power hitter as he’s been, he can be streaky, and when he isn’t hitting home runs, he doesn’t tend to hit for a high average either. The White Sox will need more from him for them to win games without Murakami.

LF Sam Antonacci

Sam Antonacci doesn’t hit for the kind of power Murakami, Montgomery or even Vargas do, but there is one thing he does at an extremely high level: get on base. In his 40 career games, Antonacci has hit .290 with a .386 on-base percentage. Antonacci’s .386 OBP ranks 23rd among the 213 players with at least 150 plate appearances, just shy of Kevin McGonigle and ahead of stars like Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuña Jr. and even Murakami.

The White Sox have been hitting Antonacci lead-off against righties because he gets on base seemingly at will, whether it’s by hitting singles or drawing walks, and it’s helped the White Sox score runs. Without Murakami there to manufacture runs on his own, the White Sox will need Antonacci to continue getting on base ahead of the likes of Vargas and Montgomery.

RHP Davis Martin

As encouraging as their offense has been, the White Sox’s pitching has exceeded expectations too, with Davis Martin as the driving force behind that resurgence. Martin, a pitcher who looked like a back-end starter at best entering this season, has become the ace of the White Sox staff, posting a 2.00 ERA in 11 starts and 67.2 innings thus far.

Martin is tied for the AL lead with eight wins, and the White Sox have gone a whopping 10-1 in his starts. Whether Murakami is hitting home runs or not, the White Sox have won virtually every time this right-hander has taken the mound. They’ve gone just 20-26 in games he has not appeared in. It goes without saying that for the White Sox to continue their winning ways, they’ll need their ace to continue pitching like a Cy Young contender.

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