For those who have not had an opportunity to watch Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda pitch in person or on television, he can pretty much be summed up in two words – very good. His fastball hovers right around the 90 to 92-MPH mark with excellent command; his curveball is a near mirror image of Clayton Kershaw’s “Public Enemy Number One” (as Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully calls it); his change-up will embarrass even the best of hitters and his slider is virtually unhittable.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old (on April 11) Osaka, Japan native made his final spring training start on Friday night in Game-2 of the annual Freeway Series against the Angels. And even though the extremely likable and polite right-hander – who has won Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young award twice – took the eventual 5-1 loss, he said that his biggest takeaway from the outing was pitching in front of the 39,714 at Dodger Stadium.

“I think the biggest accomplishment was being able to throw at Dodger Stadium, that was the biggest takeaway I had,” said Maeda through an interpreter. “Aside from that, physically I feel great.”

Maeda said that the highlight of his final spring training start was pitching in front of the Dodger Stadium crowd. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Even though Maeda is currently listed as the Dodgers number three starter behind left-handers Kershaw and Scott Kazmir, he has the kind of stuff that would probably make him a one or two on just about any other team in the league – not because he has an overpowering fastball but because he throws all of his pitches exceptionally well and, more importantly, throws them for strikes.

“I feel pretty confident about my pitches, I’ve been able to throw the way that I’ve wanted to throw,” Maeda said. “Overall I feel great.”

Although there may be some who question Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ decision to pull Maeda after only four innings and only 49 pitches, Maeda said that this was not all that different from what he would have done in his final spring training start in Japan.

“I would have thrown five innings in Japan during my last spring training outing,” said Maeda. “But I think I throw overall more [spring training] innings here in the States than in Japan.”

In his six spring training appearances, Maeda posted a 1-2 record which, of course, is basically meaningless as he was working on or experimenting with new pitches. But in spite of his win-loss record, Maeda had an exceptional 2.35 ERA. Additionally, he allowed only six earned runs on 18 hits while walking five and striking out 20 in his 23.0 innings pitched. He held opposing hitters to a .209 batting average, posted an exceptional WHIP of 1.00 and did not allow a home run.

Although Maeda interviews are usually somewhat long because they are done in both English (through an interpreter) and Japanese, they are always very insightful and often times humorous.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

“Maeda was good. He was pretty efficient with his pitches,” said Roberts after the game. “We dropped a pop-up again tonight but aside from that he was good. [He] mixed in all of his pitches, four innings, about 50 pitches. And just to see some good hitters over there, and said he felt good being in this environment – the mound, the ballpark – so I think for us we couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

As for his hitting, Maeda had only two at-bats the entire spring – one a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt that eventually led to a Dodgers run and a strikeout in Friday night’s game. Asked how he felt at the plate on Friday night, he gave his only English answer of the interview, drawing laughter from the gathered media.

“Bad.”

He then elaborated a bit more.

“I was able to see live pitching. I’m looking forward to seeing more live pitching,” he added.

Even though Maeda described his one at-bat on Friday night as “Bad,” it’s quite apparent that he enjoys hitting and will probably be pretty good at it. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With Opening Day a little over a day away, how does Maeda feel about his new team?

“This team is very good from a talent standpoint,” Maeda said. “I felt like I was very welcomed here by my teammates and that allowed me to really enjoy being part of the team. I’m really looking forward to the season.”

With Sunday’s day off, Maeda is slated to make his official major league debut on Wednesday, April 6 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.