He's only made two MLB starts, but Kenta Maeda deserves credit for his performance so far. The right-hander, despite many concerns about his health and potential, has already exceeded expectations with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Manager Dave Roberts said Maeda has made a "seamless" transition with the Dodgers in spring training, and that sentiment has held true. Roberts also said the former Japanese star is "as good, if not better, than advertised."
There's no denying that after his first two starts against the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. Maeda has tossed 12 scoreless innings and owns a 0.92 WHIP against the division rivals. He even hit a home run in his MLB debut against the Padres.
The 27-year-old signed an eight-year, $25 million contract loaded with incentives because the Dodgers were concerned about the health of his throwing elbow. Los Angeles also paid his former Japanese club, the Hiroshima Carp, a $20 million posting fee to negotiate with him.
Additionally, if Maeda makes at least 30 starts and throws 200 innings in a given season, he'll earn an extra $10 million on top of his paltry $3 million base salary. As of right now, it seems like a prudent decision by the Dodgers because if he fulfills the maximum amount of incentives, he'll end up costing the same amount as a mid-rotation starter.
In spring training it was said that Maeda profiled as a No. 4 starter based on his velocity and arsenal of pitches, but it appears as if his pitching style is already succeeding. Shutting down the Padres wasn't an awfully impressive feat, but his outing against the Diamondbacks, who boasted the second-best offense in the NL last year, was an eye-opener. He allowed just five hits and a walk over six innings and held Paul Goldschmidt and David Peralta hitless over those frames.
Maeda is mixing up his velocities very well, which is playing a big role in messing up his opponents' timing. According to FanGraphs, his fastball doesn't blow hitters away (89.8 mph average on his two-seamer and 89.7 mph on his four-seamer), but his cutter (72.5 mph avg.), slider (82.1 mph avg.) and changeup (82.7 mph avg.) provide a good mix of movement and change in speed. His best swing-and-miss percentages are on his slider (20.8 percent) and changeup (28.6 percent).
The Dodgers' investment seems like it's worth it, so far. That's not to say it won't change, but Maeda seems to be a formidable replacement in the rotation for the many injured Dodgers starters, and when they all return, it could end up being a very deep unit.
