Kenta Maeda accomplishes what Detroit Tigers wanted for him in Triple-A Toledo rehab start
PHOENIX — Detroit Tigers right-hander Kenta Maeda completed the first (and possibly the only) start of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Sunday. The Tigers haven't determined what happens next, but Maeda is healthy and checked all the boxes.
He is eligible to return from the injured list Thursday.
The 36-year-old has a 6.75 ERA with 10 walks and 23 strikeouts across 30⅔ innings in seven starts with the Tigers this season, after signing a two-year, $24 million contract in free agency.
"We had a goal in mind, and he reached it," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Those are arbitrary numbers on whether it was 45, 50, 55, 60, whatever. It was the right time to take him out. Four ups is more important than the number of pitches."
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Maeda, who landed on the injured list May 11 with a viral illness, allowed one run on three hits in three-plus innings against Indianapolis, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate. He racked up six strikeouts without a walk, throwing 53 pitches.
He gave up back-to-back doubles to former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis (on a down-and-in splitter) and Jake Lamb (middle-away curveball) in the first inning, but other than those hits, he kept his Triple-A opponents in check. He exited his start after facing one batter — who reached on a fielding error — in the fourth inning.
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The underlying results were encouraging.
Maeda used 19 sliders, 13 splitters, 10 four-seam fastballs, four sweepers, four sinkers and three curveballs. His four-seam fastball averaged 89.8 mph, the same average as his seven starts with the Tigers.
But Maeda generated 13 whiffs on 29 swings for a dominant 44.8% whiff rate, getting eight whiffs on 12 swings from the slider and four whiffs on nine swings from the splitter.
His slider has been the missing piece from his six-pitch mix, along with four-seam fastball command. He typically throws more splitters and fastballs compared to sliders, so his increased slider usage indicates he is focusing on it as part of his rehab process.
Simply put, Maeda needs a sharp slider to thrive with sub-90 mph fastball velocity.
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Hinch plans to talk to two members of Toledo's coaching staff for more information: pitching coach Doug Bochtler and manager Tim Federowicz. Those conversations will help determine the next step in Maeda's return to the Tigers.
"I haven't talked to anybody there," Hinch said. "I got to see it. I watched a little bit of it, and (pitching coach Chris Fetter) did as well. We'll gather everybody and figure out how it went with Boch and Fed and Fett and everybody involved."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kenta Maeda accomplishes what Detroit Tigers wanted in Triple-A rehab
