Using splits to maximize roster potential

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more.

Consistent producers in daily fantasy baseball are all priced exceedingly high on night-to-night basis, and rightfully so. With so few .300 hitters left in the game, a strong precedent is put on those who produce regardless of matchup. Value can regularly be found if owners are willing to seek out the proper matchups.

Home/Road

Home/road splits are used in all daily fantasy sports to varying degrees. In no other sport are they as important as they are in baseball. The MLB is unique in allowing each stadium to have its own size, dimensions and features. Savvy general managers will build their lineups around strengths suited to the home ballpark.

Pitchers: A pitcher prone to giving up flyballs and/or home runs will typically come with a low salary, deserving of the high run totals he'd tend to surrender. These pitchers could receive a boost whenever playing in one of the league's larger parks (home run metrics available via ESPN's Park Factors). With a larger/deeper outfield, their defenders could limit baserunners and home runs.

Additionally, pitchers can be prone to allowing more hits to either right or left field. This can be key in parks where the outfield dimensions vary drastically -- Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium -- with an advantage to be gained depending on locale. Other pitchers, like former Toronto Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, can be affected from playing in a domed stadium. Check the weather report in order to see if a dome will be open or closed.

Hitters: If you've ever read a daily fantasy baseball article, you've heard about the Coors Field advantage. All hitters see an uptick in production and daily fantasy salary whenever playing in Colorado. In contrast, all pitchers will see their salary drop. The thin air of Coors Field is just one factor from around the league which can lead to more hitter success.

The depth of outfield walls can lead to more or fewer home runs. Which in turn will lead to more or fewer runs and RBIs produced by hitters. Home field such as Fenway or Yankee Stadium will favor either right- or left-handed hitters. Daily fantasy owners should do the same when targeting the visiting team.

Lefty/Righty

Pitchers: A understanding of simple physics allows owners to understand left-handed pitchers will typically fare better against left-handed hitters, and righties will do better against right-handed opponents. It's tough to hit a pitch naturally moving away from you.

While typical batting order construction allows for a fairly even split of lefty and righty hitters, certain teams don't have this luxury or could be weakened by a star hitter having an injury or simply receiving an off day. It's a good strategy to target pitchers facing an opposing lineup constructed mostly of the same-handed hitters.

Hitters: One of the best sources of value in daily fantasy baseball is the lefty or righty specialist called off the bench in a particularly favorable matchup. An occasional player with poor overall numbers could see his value boost when called upon against a lower quality starter aligned with his career splits.

On the flip side of this, a typically great hitter will see reduced value when playing against his splits. Not only are Los Angeles Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw and San Francisco Giants SP Madison Bumgarner two of the best pitchers in baseball, they are almost unhittable by lefty batters. Stay away from over-priced hitters stuck with matchups like these.

Reverse Splits

While the conventional wisdom is to favor left-handed hitters against right-handed pitchers and vice versa, sneaky tournament selections can be made by relying on potentially volatile reverse splits.

Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon hit 11 points higher against lefties than righties last season. Though not a dramatic increase nor in as large of a sample size, he represents a top-tier hitter who actually has more value when most would perceive it be lower. It's an excellent opportunity to roster the left-handed outfielder whenever he's set to face a top lefty starter.

Sticking with the Rockies, SP Jon Gray fared significantly better in the unfriendly "confines" of Coors Field than he did on the road. Splits such as these can be difficult to trust, as they rely more heavily on player-to-player personal preference. Trusting in an inexact science can be a dangerous play and is best suited for only large-field tournaments.