Dodgers Kenta Maeda: Prime for a Successful Sophomore Season?

The Dodgers have been in the news recently. With the light shined on them, they have high expectations. How will sophomore pitcher Kenta Maeda fair in 2017?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a big splash in the free agent market. With the team bringing back three key players to their success, a World Series is their goal yet again. The team made a couple of big signings last season, including Japanese star Kenta Maeda. After a good rookie season, what can we expect in year two?

Maeda had a 2.39 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in 218 games. He also had a 7.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 1509.2 innings. Like other Japanese pitchers, Maeda entered the MLB with a lot of wear and tear on his arm. With questions on how he would pitch against American hitters, he did a very good job.

Maeda made 32 starts with the Dodgers. He finished with a 16-11 record, 3.48 ERA and 1.139 WHIP. The ERA and WHIP were expected to rise. The good thing to see was his strikeouts and walks didn’t vary too much from his Japanese numbers. He had a 9.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

More from Fantasy Baseball

• 5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie
• Fantasy baseball mock draft 2023, 12-team: Aaron Judge over Trea Turner?
• 3 fantasy baseball sleepers being drafted too late
• NBA DFS picks December 25: Merry Bucking Christmas
• Fantasy Baseball: Hot pitchers worthy of starting this weekend

Maeda was drafted inside the top-200 players, 194th overall. He was the 51st starting pitcher drafted, just a couple of picks behind Yu Darvish.

At the end of the season, Maeda finished No. 19 on the Player Rater, mere points behind John Lackey.

Pitching in the National League helped Maeda in his first season. He gets to face a pitcher once or twice a game. Granted, pitchers can crush the ball and

If he were pitching in the American League East, I could see his ratio stats rise another point. The Dodgers offense did give him enough support to give him the win, 4.91 runs per start.

The Dodgers didn’t add any new bats to the lineup, so the offense is going to look almost the same to last season. If they can stay healthy and Maeda can make some adjustments in his delivery, then he could move up to a top-15 pitcher.

Next: Is Charlie Blackmon a First Round Pick in 2017?

Entering 2017, Maeda enters as the No. 3 pitcher on his team, behind Clayton Kershaw and recently re-signed Rich Hill. While he won’t surpass Kershaw, Hill is 36 years old. Hill had a 1.83 ERA and 0.786 WHIP in six starts after being traded to the Dodgers.

Maeda is one of my breakout stars for the 2017 season.