LAKELAND, Fla. >> The Tigers are rewarding veteran Kenta Maeda’s productive offseason work regimen by giving him the ball in the Grapefruit League opener against the Phillies on Saturday at Joker Marchant Stadium.

“He’s been great,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He came here to prove something, and he’s off to a really good start.”

Maeda struggled mightily last spring and didn’t get himself back to form until the middle of July and by then, he’d been moved to the bullpen. With assistance from the Tigers’ pitching department and strength and fitness coaches, Maeda completely overhauled his offseason training and throwing programs.

“In the past, my focus was more on gradually preparing, making sure I felt good rather than focusing on results,” he said in Japanese in an interview aided by interpreter Daichi Sekizaki. “But this year, results matter. It’s not just about feeling good — it’s also about putting up good performances.”

Instead of throwing one bullpen in Japan before coming to camp, he threw eight. He’s come to camp with more power in his delivery and more velocity on his pitches. Last spring, his fastball velocity in camp was 86 mph. In his first live bullpen session on Tuesday, he sat at 92 mph.

“Velo isn’t always the best measure to use, especially now,” Hinch said. “But for him in particular, it was good to see. He’s going to be ahead of the hitters and we’re just judging him on his preparedness to enter a game. He’s going to start the first game because he’s the most ready.

“But also because we want to give him as many looks as we can to figure out what’s the best role for him.”

Maeda isn’t thinking about any role other than starter right now.

“I take pride in being a starter,” he said.

Maeda, who will turn 37 on April 11 and will earn $10 million in the second of a two-year $24 million deal, admitted he was frustrated last season and disappointed in himself.

“I was able to take a step back and reflect, figuring out what I could do better, what I wanted to improve,” he said. “That frustration from last season is something I’m carrying with me into this year. Last year was probably the most frustrating season of my baseball life.”

He posted a 3.86 ERA in 12 relief appearances, with 41 strikeouts in 42 innings. But he was left off the Tigers’ playoff roster. Now, he is in a tight race with rookie Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Matt Manning, Ty Madden and Brant Hurter for two spots in the Tigers’ rotation.

“His power and stuff are up,” Hinch said. “How that translates to his readiness to compete in game one versus the broader view over the course of the spring, time will tell. But I know he put himself in a good position to come in strong, with better stuff from the start. He’s not playing catch-up, which traps a lot of veterans who use spring to get ready for the season rather than audition for a role.

“That’ll be a little different for him.”

It is expected that Manning will piggy-back off Maeda on Saturday, though that is not official.

“Part of this is reminding these guys that (the evaluation) is not just about spring training,” Hinch said. “There’s the work in the offseason and the body of work previously. It’s hard for players not to read into everything. We don’t want them to read into things like who starts the game, who follows, who they pitched with.

“So many things can get in a player’s head. We try to remind them to do what they can control — pound the zone and get their outs. But I realize it’s hard.”