After a successful stint out of the bullpen during the club’s postseason run, Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda will reprise his role as a starting pitcher in 2018.
Now in his third season with the Dodgers, Maeda will once again provide the team a quality option in the backend of the rotation. He reported to camp completely healthy and tossed his first bullpen session nearly two weeks ago.
Maeda will now get into gameplay and make his first Cactus League start on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. It will mark the second matchup between the two teams in as many days.
Over 134.1 innings last season, Maeda posted a 4.22 ERA, 4.07 FIP and 1.15 WHIP with 140 strikeouts to 34 walks. Furthermore, the 29-year-old compiled a 2.25 ERA across eight innings as a reliever to close out the regular season.
Maeda remained in the bullpen for the postseason and thrived in front of a national audience. In 10.2 innings across three playoff series, he allowed just one run and seven baserunners while recording 10 strikeouts.
Prior to the World Series, he combined for five perfect innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago Cubs, respectively, in the National League Division and Championship Series.
Given his willingness to take on any role asked of him, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi considers Maeda an underrated piece of the club’s puzzle.
