MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 4-16-17

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.

Top GPP Pitcher

Detroit has been off to a somewhat sluggish start and is favored to lose this game today. Carrasco has averaged 7 K's a game this season in both 7 and 5.2 innings pitched. Jon Lester and Carrasco will certainly be two popular picks for the main slate tonight and I will opt for a pitcher who is more likely to get a win and may be less-owned.

Top GPP Hitters

Harper is an elite play in every matchup, and today I have a feeling he will be lower in ownership due to his price tag. If you can squeeze him in as your top play I would do so today. Facing a young hard throwing right hander in Eickhoff is also a plus. Harper is coming off of a goose egg, and hasn't hit a homer in 7 games so let's see if that streak ends today.

Jones hasn't been red hot or anything to start the season, but he has been consistent at getting on base with a .275 average and 3 walks. Perhaps facing Happ today will add a third home run to his stat sheet and some more RBI. Since he is not on a hot streak, he may be low owned and that is what I am shooting for today.

If you haven't played the red-hot Thames over his past three games you have missed out in a big way. He has homered four times in his last 3 games, and only has one hitless game to start the season. I fully realize four games in a row with a home run is tough, but the way he is hitting he will produce and meet value without a moon shot. A scathing hot lefty hitting .382 against a righty in Cincinnati named Sal Romano? Sign me up once again. Chalk or not.

Diaz is my value pick for the day coming in at a discounted price and with some consistent production. He may not have too many numbers to crunch as of yet but he has 4 hits in his last 3 games, is facing a lefty in Boyd today. He has not hit a home run yet this season, but he has produced Fantasy points in every game but one. Today may be the day for his first homer.

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