The purpose of this column is to highlight some players with upside and well-suited for tournaments. While the majority of the hitter picks will likely have power upside, that's not necessarily the case for all the listed options. Other contextual factors such as batting order, ballpark, opposing pitcher, price, speed, etc also come into play, and you'll see these items sprinkled into the write-ups below. Along with that, we'll be gauging the ownership levels, giving you some plausible pivots from the popular choices in a given game slate. We also include an area to find the top stacks of the night for upside but also some lower owned that give you an edge.

Starting Pitcher

Kyle Gibson - Minnesota Twins

DK: $9,000 - FD: $7,900

Kyle Gibson is a big home favorite against one of the worst offenses in the league. This lineup has a .310 wOBA and .159 ISO off right-handed pitching this season. The 25.4% strikeout rate against righties is what we want to target. Gibson has a 13% swinging strike rate and has two excellent off-speed pitches. His xFIP is below 4.00, and I like the upside against this Tigers squad.

Tournament Bats

Tommy Pham - Tampa Bay Rays - OF

DK: $5,000 - FD: $3,700

John Means has allowed a .326 wOBA and .175 ISO to right-handed hitters this season, and the Rays don't have a ton of high profile options. Tommy Pham is one to keep an eye on given that Means isn't a heavy groundball arm or even an average one. Pham has a .407 wOBA off southpaws, but the power comes and goes due to the higher groundball rate. Pham has a .250 ISO off this fastball range, and a .263 ISO off the changeup from left-handed pitching.

Nelson Cruz - Minnesota Twins - OF

DK: $5,800 - FD: $4,000

The Twins have plenty of firepower to get at Edwin Jackson, although it doesn't take much. Nelson Cruz has massive upside in this group. He has a .307 ISO off right-handed pitching this season, and has one of the easiest matchups of all season long. Jackson has allowed a .509 wOBA and .377 ISO off right-handers this season. The hard-contact allowed is 45%.

Christian Walker - Arizona Diamondbacks - 1B

DK: $4,300 - FD: $3,000

Christian Walker has big time power, but also a big time strikeout rate. Against right-handed pitching this season, he has a .229 ISO and .354 wOBA. The 28% strikeout rate is why he isn't really a trustworthy cash game play. Chase Anderson is a big time flyball arm, allowing a .394 wOBA and .251 ISO to right-handed hitters. They have a 46% hard-contact rate and 39% flyball rate.

Tournament Stacks




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