Dodgers Team News

Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda Moved To The Bullpen After Last Start

It has been announced that Kenta Maeda will make his move to the bullpen after making his last start of the year on Thursday against the Phillies.

Maeda only threw three innings, letting go two runs and forcing the Dodgers to work from behind. Maeda wasn’t given much of a chance by Roberts to redeem himself in that outing. He threw only 61 pitches, with three strikeouts and two walks.

Keep in mind that his outing against the Phillies did not cause him to be moved to the bullpen. We knew going into this week that Ryu and Maeda would both be moving to the bullpen in preparation for a potential bullpen role come October. However, Kenta has had an off year and it comes as no surprise that he won’t start in October. Kenta had a very solid rookie season last year, finishing in third place for the National League Rookie of the Year Award with an era of 3.48. However, this year has been a very different story. He has struggled to locate his pitches resulting in the ball being left up in the zone. Although Maeda’s opponents batting average has hardly climbed, he has struggled with giving up the big hit.

That may be concerning going into the postseason, however coming out of relief is a completely different job as a pitcher. You’re not worried about conserving energy or allowing base runners; you have the chance to make your hardest best pitch every time. Maeda has made only a few outings out of relief, but when he has, his batting average against dropped almost .100 points. What is also interesting to note is that righties are hitting just .215 against him this year, whereas lefties are hitting .257.

Look for Kenta Maeda to come into positions to eat innings and perform against players who have struggled against him. J.D. Martinez of the Diamondbacks, for example, is 0-6 against Maeda this year!

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