This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
There are a few more early start times across baseball on Tuesday, leaving 10 games to pick from for the main evening slate on Yahoo. There are several aces set to take the mound, which could lead to some juicy stat lines. Let's dig in and examine which players and teams stand out as having favorable opportunities to be productive.
Pitching Overview
Make no mistake about it, the headliner taking the mound Tuesday is Jacob deGrom ($60). He was dominant across the board last year, finishing with a 0.91 WHIP and a 32.2 percent strikeout rate. Just as impressive is the fact that he only allowed 10 home runs across 217 innings. To no surprise, he's off to a great start this season by recording 24 strikeouts across 13 scoreless innings. The Twins won't have the benefit of the DH with this game being played in New York, which certainly won't help their cause. While expensive, deGrom should still be highly owned.
Two other big names on this slate are Gerrit Cole ($55) and Aaron Nola ($51). However, unlike deGrom, they are met with unfavorable opponents. As much as the Yankees lineup has been weakened by injuries, they still have some dangerous hitters in Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres. Cole's 34.5 percent strikeout rate last year should still make him a popular option, but he's risky. The same can be said for Nola, who is coming off of a breakout campaign in which he posted a 3.21 xFIP and 0.98 WHIP. However, he'll be facing a dangerous Nationals team that lit him up for six runs and three home runs across three innings in his last start.
For those looking to take the cost-effective route at starting pitcher, look no further than Joey Lucchesi ($35) against the Giants. Since they've only scored 30 runs across their first 11 games, the Giants are a team to target more often than not. Lucchesi showed plenty of potential with his 26.5 percent strikeout rate last year and recorded seven strikeouts across 5.1 scoreless innings in his first start of the year versus the Giants.
Key Values/Chalk
It doesn't get much more enticing than a Brewers stack versus the underwhelming Matt Harvey, who was shelled for eight runs in his last start against the Rangers. Harvey has already allowed three home runs across 10 innings this year after allowing 1.6 HR/9 in 2018. He doesn't miss many bats anymore and has allowed a .372 wOBA to left-handed hitters over the last two seasons, so expect Christian Yelich ($29), Mike Moustakas ($19) and Travis Shaw ($19) to all have high ownership percentages.
Another matchup that jumps off the page is the A's facing John Means, who has only pitched out of the bullpen in the early going. He did start all but one of his 20 games for Triple-A last year, but his 18.8 percent strikeout rate was less than encouraging. Look for the A's powerful duo of Khris Davis ($21) and Matt Chapman ($20) to be towards the top of the ownership leaderboard.
With how hot the Dodgers are right now, they have several players who will be popular more often than not. They currently have the highest OPS (.955) and have scored the second-most runs (87) in baseball. Tuesday brings a matchup against Dakota Hudson, who posted a 4.35 xFIP at Triple-A last year. The Brewers touched him up for four runs (three earned) in his first start, which included three home runs. This is a prime spot to deploy the likes of Cody Bellinger ($26) and Max Muncy ($22).
Stacks
It wouldn't be surprising to see several players on the Brewers among the highest owned players. Outside of the left-handed trio of Yelich, Moustakas and Shaw, Lorenzo Cain ($22) also has plenty of upside out of the leadoff spot. With the ability to use the DH since this game will be played in Los Angeles, Eric Thames ($9) is another lefty with tons of power who should find his way into the lineup.
For those rolling with an A's stack, Marcus Semien ($16) could be an intriguing third player to add alongside Davis and Chapman. He's been hitting leadoff against left-handed pitchers, putting him in an enviable spot with so much power behind him. He also has significantly better career numbers against lefties (.337 wOBA) than he does righties (.300 wOBA).
There are a few viable options on the Dodgers to add alongside Bellinger and Muncy. After recording a .374 wOBA against righties last year, Joc Pederson ($18) makes a lot of sense at a price that won't destroy your budget. Corey Seager ($19) is also a great option based on his career .380 wOBA versus righties.
If you're playing in tournament play and want to take a chance on a team that might not be highly owned, consider stacking Mets against Kyle Gibson and the Twins. As good as Gibson was last year with his 3.62 ERA, his still allowed a lot of base runners with his 1.30 WHIP. Despite having a favorable matchup against a weak Royals lineup in his first start, he allowed six runs (five earned) over 4.2 innings. Robinson Cano ($20), Michael Conforto ($22) and Jeff McNeil ($16) have all hit righties well in their career, making them the best options to target.
