Kenta Maeda Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 1" / 184 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 4/11/1988 (33)
- Experience
- 4
- College
- None
Kenta Maeda Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Kenta Maeda News
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda registered a quality start in Thursday's loss to the Angels. Maeda went a season-high seven innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits with no walks. He fanned six batters and induced 12 whiffs, half of them on his splitter, which kept the Angels' hitters off-balance. It would have been nice to see Maeda get the win after the solid performance, but fantasy managers can take solace in the fact that he has legitimately turned his season around. Maeda has recorded a 31.4 percent K-BB percentage with a 2.35 ERA across 23 innings pitched over his last four starts, looking like the ace pitcher from last season. He'll be a must-start in all formats in his next start against the Tigers, having struck out 15 batters in his last two starts against them.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda put together another solid effort in Saturday's loss to the Detroit Tigers. Maeda pitched five innings, surrendering three runs on three hits while issuing just one walk. The 33-year-old righty had the swing-and-miss stuff working once again, generating 15 whiffs on 90 pitches, including nine of them on his slider-splitter combo. Maeda has now pitched at least five innings and allowed three runs or less in each of his last three starts, posting a 25:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that span. While it's worth noting that the starts have come against weaker opponents in the Royals and Tigers, it's still encouraging that Maeda has been able to post strong strikeout totals against them. Fantasy managers will get a better idea of where Maeda truly is in his next start against the Angels, who have posted the sixth-best OPS this season. He can be trusted in that matchup, given his recent stretch.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda turned in another strong performance in Friday's win over the Detroit Tigers. Maeda pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven. He generated a whopping 17 whiffs, 14 of them on his slider-splitter combo, as the off-speed stuff perhaps looked the best it has all season. He was lifted at 84 pitches and said that he felt some fatigue in his body- though he'll have some time to recover during the All-Star break. That's obviously not what his fantasy managers want to hear, but it shouldn't overshadow the fact that Maeda has put together his two best starts of the season. Despite pitching against the Royals and Tigers, he didn't allow a run in 11 innings and posted a strong 17:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Maeda is working himself back into fantasy managers' good graces after a rough first half.
Batting Order
| 1 | Max Kepler |
| 2 | Brent Rooker |
| 3 | Jorge Polanco |
| 4 | Josh Donaldson |
| 5 | Mitch Garver |
| 6 | Trevor Larnach |
| 7 | Miguel Sanó |
| 8 | Jake Cave |
| 9 | Andrelton Simmons |
Kenta Maeda Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Max Kepler |
| 2 | Brent Rooker |
| 3 | Jorge Polanco |
| 4 | Josh Donaldson |
| 5 | Mitch Garver |
| 6 | Trevor Larnach |
| 7 | Miguel Sanó |
| 8 | Jake Cave |
| 9 | Andrelton Simmons |
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maedas first MLB season away from LA was his best, putting up a 2.70 ERA and 0.75 WHIP while winning six of his 11 starts in Minnesota. The shortened season may have helped, as Maeda spent the whole year as a starter and wasnt bounced between the bullpen and rotation like he was by the Dodgers. But his underlying numbers backed up his improved results, as he also had a 2.92 SIERA and 2.63 xFIP while lowering his walk rate to 4.0% and increasing his strikeout rate to 32.3%, both career-bests. The changes Maeda made to his pitch usage in 2020 were interesting and were a big reason for these improvements. His swinging-strike rate of 17.2% was third-best among qualified pitchers last season, as his fastball usage dropped from 33.7% in 2019 to 18.8% in 2020. Instead, Maeda used his changeup (29.4%, up from 23.7%) and his slider (38.6%, up from 31.5%) much more. The Twins look like they have managed to maximize Maedas effectiveness with his changing pitch usage, so there are no reasons to worry that he'll complete regress from last year. While a sub-3.00 ERA across a full season might be a stretch, Maeda looks to have the potential to return ace value despite being drafted as an SP2 in Rounds 4 or 5.