The Los Angeles Dodgers entered last offseason with question marks in their starting rotation as Zack Greinke was bound for free agency. Once Greinke signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and other top starters came off the board, the Dodgers added Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda.
Kazmir was coming off a strong season in split time with the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros, while Maeda had long been the top pitcher in Japan. The right-hander nonetheless faced questions as to how he’d transition to Major League Baseball.
Those increased when Maeda confirmed during his introductory press conference that a physical revealed irregularities in his right elbow.
That explained the Dodgers signing Maeda to a seven-year, $25 million contract that’s loaded with incentives.
He thus far has been a bright spot in a rotation that’s been ravaged by injury. According to ESPN’s David Schoenfield, Maeda is the Dodgers’ most underrated player this season:
It seems as though his season has gone on without much attention, but he’s 11-7 with a 3.31 ERA and excellent peripherals: 130⅔ IP, 129 K’s, 34 BB, 108 H. He’s really good.
Schoenfield also selected one player from each team who is overrated, and named closer Kenley Jansen the Dodgers’ representative.
Maeda leads all rookies in wins (11), games started (23), innings pitched (130.2) and strikeouts (129).
The Dodgers are 14-9 in games started by Maeda this season, with the 28-year-old completing at least five innings in each of his past four starts. On the season Maeda is 11-7 with a 117 ERA+, 3.59 FIP and 1.08 WHIP.
