Maeda gave up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out four over three innings in a spring win over the Royals on Friday.
Maeda worked around a leadoff home run to Whit Merrifield to turn in a solid pitching line. The veteran has seen his workload increase with each spring outing -- including an additional inning in the bullpen following this start -- which suggests he will begin the 2018 campaign in the Dodgers' rotation. We saw mixed results from Maeda in his sophomore season (primarily as a starter) after he posted a 4.22 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 9.4 K/9 over 134.1 innings. The key difference between his rookie year and last season was a sharp increase in home runs allowed (1.5 HR/9). If he can keep the ball down, Maeda has a chance to hold down his rotation spot all season.