This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
The first Tuesday of the young MLB season features a sizable, 14-game slate beginning at 1:10 PM Eastern time. With myriad tools for evaluating player performance at our disposal nowadays, the difference between a great daily fantasy player and a subpar one often comes down to recognizing a breakout player or buy-low opportunity before prices adjust to reflect that shift in value. With that concept in mind, this column is heavy on players who remain affordable despite fast starts.
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PITCHER
Zack Godley, ARI vs. LAD ($42): Many fantasy players will see that Godley will be opposed by Clayton Kershaw and immediately fade him, but that shouldn't be the case. The soon-to-be 28-year-old righty is coming off a fantastic campaign, which featured a 3.37 ERA, 3.32 xFIP and 9.58 K/9 over 155 innings. Additionally, Arizona's installation of a humidor at Chase Field should help make the park less hitter-friendly, and a Dodgers lineup that's already been shut out twice this season shouldn't exactly strike fear into opposing pitchers' hearts.
Matthew Boyd, DET vs. KC ($32): The Royals lost a lot of firepower in free agency, and those losses have hit the team hard in the early going, as Kansas City's 0-3 and has been outscored 24-11. Boyd's an affordable option capable of capitalizing on this favorable matchup, especially since the southpaw holds a platoon advantage over Kansas City's most dangerous hitter, Mike Moustakas. He went 4-0 with 26 strikeouts in 23.2 innings in the preseason, so Boyd won't stay this cheap for long if he can carry that success over into the games that matter.
CATCHER
Evan Gattis, HOU vs. BAL ($15): Gattis has never shied away from righty-on-righty matchups, as his career wOBA in that split is only .003 lower than against lefties, and he actually posted a .027 higher mark facing righties compared to southpaws last year. He won't get to face a much more vulnerable right-hander than Baltimore starter Mike Wright Jr., who's just warming a rotation spot for Alex Cobb. Wright comes in with a 5.86 ERA over 144.1 career innings.
FIRST BASE
Justin Smoak, TOR vs. CWS ($17): Smoak already has a two-homer game against right-handed pitching under his belt this season, which isn't surprising for a switch-hitter whose career wOBA from the left side is .018 higher than his mark batting right-handed. He'll once again line up in the left batters box against White Sox righty Miguel Gonzalez, who's making his season debut while coming off a campaign to forget. Gonzalez's xFIP (5.65) was almost as high as his K/9 (5.77) last year, so he'll have trouble putting Smoak away and should allow no shortage of scoring opportunities.
SECOND BASE
Ryan Flaherty, ATL vs. WAS ($9): His hot start is likely an aberration, but there's always a chance that Flaherty is one of the handful of late bloomers that turn in surprisingly productive campaigns every season. Even though the 31-year-old infielder has climbed a bit in the batting order after starting the season hitting eighth, he's still available for just $2 above the minimum price. Given his platoon advantage over righty A.J. Cole (.414 wOBA allowed to left-handed hitters last season), Flaherty's worth a flier as a low-risk, high-reward play.
THIRD BASE
Travis Shaw, MIL vs. STL ($18): Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty only faced 46 left-handed batters last season, but he was absolutely smoked in that limited sample, allowing a .448 wOBA and four long balls. Shaw's one of the most reliable left-handed bats in the game given his .273/.349/.513 line a season ago and .389/.421/.611 line this year, so look for him to wreak havoc out of the clean-up spot.
SHORTSTOP
Marcus Semien, OAK vs. TEX ($15): While he had a down year in this split a season ago, Semien still has a .341 career wOBA against lefties. Rangers lefty Cole Hamels hasn't traditionally been considered an option to exploit, but it could be time to readjust that thinking considering he posted a 4.20 ERA and 4.83 xFIP last season before struggling to the tune of three runs allowed over 5.2 innings in his first start this year.
OUTFIELD
Aaron Judge, NYY vs. TB ($24): While most eyes will be on his teammate Giancarlo Stanton in the Yankees' much-anticipated home opener, Judge's heroics at Yankee Stadium last season suggest he's even more likely to make a devastating impact on the visiting Rays. He hit .312 with 33 home runs in 77 home games last year compared to just .256 with 19 dingers on the road, and lefty/righty splits weren't a problem for Judge in the Bronx given his .434 wOBA against the former and .480 mark when facing the latter. While Monday's snow-related postponement will allow Tampa Bay to use right-hander Chris Archer over the inexperienced Austin Pruitt, Archer shouldn't scare owners away from Judge coming off consecutive campaigns with an ERA over 4.00.
Adam Eaton, WAS at ATL ($21): Eaton's been one of baseball's hottest hitters in the early going, setting the table beautifully at the top of a stacked Nationals lineup en route to grabbing the league lead in runs scored while also chipping in a pair of homers. His combination of speed and power puts a 20/20 season in play for Eaton, and the left-handed leadoff man is primed for another solid showing against righty Julio Teheran, who has allowed a .342 career wOBA in that split compared to a .267 mark when facing right-handed batters.
Jay Bruce, NYM vs. PHI ($17): Bruce breaks with the trend of hot-starters featured in this column, but the feast-or-famine slugger can heat up in a hurry after smacking at least 30 long balls in five of his previous seven seasons. Pay no mind to the left-handed hitter's .167 start through three games, as a matchup with Phillies righty Ben Lively is just what Bruce needs to get right back on track. As a rookie last year, Lively surrendered a .369 wOBA to batters from the left side, along with a .512 slugging percentage, eight home runs and 19:17 K:BB in 43.1 innings of work in that split.
