PHOENIX -- Nobody reasonably expects Kenta Maeda to fully replace Zack Greinke for the Dodgers, perhaps other than in the literal sense of Maeda occupying a spot in the starting rotation that Greinke once did. But after Maeda faced live hitters for the first time this spring, catcher Yasmani Grandal couldn't help but compare the two pitchers.
"He's a guy who can throw four pitches," Grandal said. "Zack Greinke last year threw four pitches."
Maeda threw 38 pitches in two simulated innings on Monday, facing Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley, Carl Crawford, Charlie Culberson and others.