Los Angeles Dodgers: 2019 grades for every player

Kenta Maeda: C+

If Joe Kelly is the guy who barely passed the class with a good final, Kenta Maeda is the guy that should have finished with a B- but missed a few classes and got some attendance points taken off.

For the most part, Kenta Maeda did exactly what the Los Angeles Dodgers needed him to do. He eclipsed 150 innings pitched and for the most part, was good enough, finishing the year with a 4.04 ERA.

The only reason that ERA is so high is that Kenta had a few rough outings (AKA absences) that affected his numbers. About once a month every month until September, Maeda would have one start where he would allow five earned runs.

He did not have one in May, but he had two in April to make up for it. Outside of those starts, he was great, but it was those few clunkers that brought him down to a C+.

He did not start a single game in September and instead transitioned back into the bullpen, where he yet again became the Dodgers’ most electric arm out of the bullpen in October that they did not use enough.

If Maeda would have strung together five starts in September then he likely would have set a career-high in innings pitched, which showcased his consistency and reliability all season.