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Maeda has added 10 pounds of muscle to his frame in an effort to reach his goal of 200 innings pitched this season.
Maeda had a strong major league debut last season but faded down the stretch, posting a 4.25 ERA in the second half compared to a 2.95 ERA in the first. The added muscle could help prolong his effectiveness and give a better representation of the pitcher he could be over the course of a whole season. Maeda is also working on adding a cutter to his repertoire in an effort to deal with left-handed batters better, who he allowed over 30 more batting average points against last season compared to righties. Even with last year's second-half slump he still turned in usable fantasy numbers, so these changes made during spring training could result in improved numbers in his sophomore season.
