2014 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Takeaways from Dodgers and Padres on Opening Day

As the Padres No. 1 starter, Andrew Cashner was keeping up with his opponent. In his first start of the season, he threw six innings of one-run ball. Of his 96 pitches thrown, 67 were strikes (70 percent). He kept the powerful Dodgers hitters off base (more on that later) and struck out five batters. He has a lot of upside and is a nice sleeper for the rest of the year. Pick him up if he's still available.

The former San Francisco Giants closer came in relief on Sunday, but Brian Wilson didn't pitch well. He threw 25 pitches, only 12 were strikes. Wilson blew the lead for the Dodgers, allowing three runs on two hits and was unable to record an out. If you had Hyun-Jin Ryu on your team, you must be furious at Wilson. If he's expected to be the setup guy for Kenley Jansen, then he has to work on his command.

Huston Street has been a consistent closer for the Padres over the last two seasons. With the Padres, he has a 2.35 ERA and recorded 56 saves. He picked up his first save of the 2014 season on Sunday. Street was effective and made quick work of the Dodgers in the ninth inning. He threw only 11 pitches and nine of them were called strikes. With that kind of work rate, Street could be a top-10 closer at the end of the year.

With Clayton Kershaw on the DL, Hyun-Jin Ryu filled in for the Dodgers as the Opening Day starter. He pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven. Manager Don Mattingly pulled Ryu after seven innings because he's pitching in five days, but Ryu was only at 88 pitches thrown. Maybe if he left him in for the eighth, the Dodgers would have won. Regardless, Ryu is a top-tier pitcher with a great fastball and command of his pitches.

If you don't want to blame Wilson for the loss, you can definitely blame the middle of the Dodgers lineup. The No. 2 through No. 5 hitters (Yasiel Puig, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier) went a combined 0-for-15 with four strikeouts. Granted it is the first game, but these are the hitters the Dodgers are relying on to help win the division. Puig and Ramirez were drafted highly and cannot struggle for their fantasy owners.