Dodgers: Kenta Maeda Continues his Dominance at Dodger Stadium

Slotted in as the Dodgers’ fifth starting pitcher, Kenta Maeda often finds himself overlooked in a deep and talented starting rotation.

There has been one constant with the Dodgers over their last several years of National League dominance, and that is a deep and extremely talented starting rotation.  The rotation is so deep that the fifth starter often gets critiqued more than the average fifth starter due to LA having so many above average starting pitching options.

This season the fifth starter has been Kenta Maeda.  Kenta had an average start to the season posting a 4.50 ERA in April but the month of May went much better for the right-hander.  In May, Maeda went 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA and held the opposition to a measly .146 batting average.  His opponent’s average and WHIP from April were nearly cut in half in May going from .287 and 1.62 to .146 and 0.67.

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One factor into his strong May was the fact that three of his five starts came at Dodger Stadium.  Chavez Ravine has been a much friendlier place this season for Kenta Maeda.  At home, he is 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .145 average.  That is a big difference from the road where he has pitched to a 5.64 ERA and .282 opponent’s average.

Over his last three seasons, Maeda has pitched better at home but the difference hasn’t been drastic although it is noticeable.  Kenta has allowed an ERA of 3.27 at home while away from the Ravine he has allowed an ERA of 4.35.  Most of the Dodgers’ rotation will see better success at home although the difference won’t be as big.

While Kenta may eventually move to the bullpen later on this season, the Dodgers are going to do their best to honor his contract that is full of starting pitcher incentives.  Although he is often the starting pitcher that is asked to move to the bullpen, Maeda remains an underrated starting pitcher for the Dodgers and so far in 2019, he has been brilliant at Dodger Stadium.