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 looked much better in his second start of the season in a win over the Tigers. Maeda allowed two runs on seven hits with one walk compared to six strikeouts over six innings. The 32-year-old generated 13 swinging strikes, seven of them on his slider, as he has utilized the pitch quite often in his first two outings of the season. He possibly could have pitched another inning, though perhaps manager Rocco Baldelli wanted to give his arm rest where he could. Maeda will face the Red Sox in his next start on April 13. They rank 14th in strikeout rate early on in 2021.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda struck out five batters in 4 1/3 innings of work on Opening Day against the Brewers, exiting with a 3-2 lead. Maeda reached a high pitch count early on, as he tossed 88 pitches against Milwaukee, but 57 of them went for strikes. He allowed two runs one earned on six hits and two walks in his first start of the year. It was a small step down from the numbers he put up this spring (0.49 ERA, 22 SO in 18 1/3 IP), but managers shouldn't worry too much over this start. He should have a nice matchup in his next projected start on Wednesday against the Tigers.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four batters in Friday's outing against the Braves. It marked Maeda's final start of what was an excellent spring- as he registered a 0.49 ERA in 18.1 innings with an ace-like 22-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The 32-year-old right-hander is slated to take the mound on Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers. Maeda went at least six innings in each of his starts against the Brewers in 2020, earning the win in his first start while logging a no-decision in the second, albeit with 12 strikeouts over eight frames of work.
Batting Order
| 1 | Luis Arraez |
| 2 | Jorge Polanco |
| 3 | Nelson Cruz |
| 4 | Byron Buxton |
| 5 | Max Kepler |
| 6 | Miguel Sanó |
| 7 | Jake Cave |
| 8 | Ryan Jeffers |
| 9 | Andrelton Simmons |
Kenta Maeda Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Luis Arraez |
| 2 | Jorge Polanco |
| 3 | Nelson Cruz |
| 4 | Byron Buxton |
| 5 | Max Kepler |
| 6 | Miguel Sanó |
| 7 | Jake Cave |
| 8 | Ryan Jeffers |
| 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.