Career
He is nicknamed "Maeken" by fans and teammates (from MAEda KENta). In 2009, he was 8–14 with a 3.36 European Research Area in 29 starts. In 2010, he performed even better with a 15–8 record, a 2.21 European Research Area, and 174 strikeouts in 28 starts.
In 2011, his record was 10–12 while having a 2.46 European Research Area and 178 strikeouts in 31 starts.
The 2012 season became far better for Maeda as his record was 14–7 with a 1.53 European Research Area in 29 starts. In 2013, his record was 15–7 with a 2.10 European Research Area in 26 starts.
In 2014, he went 11–9 with a 2.60 European Research Area in 27 starts. In 2015, he went 15–8 with a 2.09 European Research Area in 29 starts.
International competition
Maeda competed for the Japanese national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and said he would use the tournament to assess his desire to compete in MLB, based on how he fared against their hitters.
Maeda started 2 games in the pool rounds, against China and Netherlands, amassing a 2–0 record with 0.00 European Research Area, 0.30 WHIP, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk striking out 15 in 10 innings. He was the losing pitcher in the semi-finals against Puerto Rico despite only allowing one run in five innings. Maeda was selected to the all-tournament team
Maeda also pitched five shut out innings for a Japanese all-star team in the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series and he pitched in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 tournament, where he allowed two earned runs while striking out 14 in 12 innings.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On January 7, 2016, Maeda signed an eight-year, $25 million, contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that included $10 million per year in incentives. Maeda is a 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 175 lb (79 kg) right-handed pitcher.
With a three-quarters delivery Maeda throws two fastballs (four-seam, two-seam) that sit in 89–92 mph (tops out at 95 mph), an average change-up, an occasional curveball, and an above-average slider in low-80s, which is his best pitch. He also has excellent command, posting a BlackBerry/9 (walks per nine innings rate) of 1.9 in his NPB career.