MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 4-5-17

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

Sure, I may be one of the people who is quick to jump on the Morton bandwagon after last season's resurgence (one that lasted just 17.1 innings prior to his season-ending injury), but the groundball specialist showed some encouraging signs during that short span. He sported an impressive 12.3% SwStr (4.5% higher than his career average), but also maintained a lot of what made him a serviceable pitcher over the years. His GB rate was tremendous (62.8%), which was an improvement even over his solid career mark of 55.4%. His command remained a concern (4.15 BB/9, 3.40 for his career), and he'll need to keep that number down against a Seattle team that is littered with power bats that could turn this game in a hurry if Morton issues a few free passes. However, at his low price point on a big slate of games, he could afford you the luxury of stuffing your lineups with top bats, and a solid outing could see Morton crush salary. His increase in velocity has me very intrigued. If you're looking to stack up top bats, Morton may just be your best option.

Top GPP Hitters

This looks like a perfect spot for Franco, as he squares off against southpaw Brandon Finnegan, who allowed a ridiculous 27 home runs, 38.3% HardHit, and .334 wOBA to RHB 2016. Franco owns some spectacular numbers of his own against opposite-handed pitchers, as he posted .238 ISO and .357 wOBA in that split last season. If you're a BvP believer, he also took Finnegan deep once among five plate appearances. Per FanGraphs, Great American Ballpark is tied with Coors Field as the best park for right-handed power with a rating of 114. Franco has monster upside in this one, as the Reds also own one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball.

Once again, Goldy was an unstoppable force against LHP in 2016, posting a .449 wOBA, .224 ISO, and 179 wRC+. He has had plenty of success against Matt Moore as well, going 5-9 with a HR and a double in their previous meetings. All BvP talk aside, Goldy (along with Giancarlo Stanton) is nearly an auto-play for me in GPPs against anything but the most elite LHP. While Moore showed some flashes of brilliance in 2016 (including an 11-strikeout game against these same D-Backs at Chase Field in September), he certainly doesn't profile as an elite arm. He allowed 20 HR to opposite-handed hitters last season, as well as a 42.8% FB rate. Those numbers could spell trouble against Goldy and the D-Backs in the hitter's haven of Chase Field. Chase Field profiles as the 3rd-best park for run production the all of baseball. Goldy knows exactly how to take advantage. Get yourself some shares tonight.

As far as left-handed hitters go, Joc may just have the most power of any young player in the game. His .278 ISO against RHP last season ranked 8th in all of baseball, and he showed off his power swing in the very first game this year, blasting a grand salami among five RBI. Trevor Cahill was very generous to LHB in 2016, allowing a 35.5% HardHit and 12.2% BB rate in a small sample of work. Joc may be a guy who is a little higher owned than you'd like to see, but his power upside is immense. Dodger Stadium profiles as the 11th-best park for lefty power, per FanGraphs, and Joc is always a threat to find the seats.

While his numbers dropped last season after leaving the hitter's paradise of Coors Field for the much tougher Tropicana Field, Dickerson remained one of the better hitters in the AL against RHP. He posted solid power numbers once again with a .264 ISO and 22 HR in 435 PA against RHP, and while this spot looks like a tough one, Michael Pineda continues to have issues with LHB (.343 wOBA, .35.9% HardHit in 2016). Tropicana Field is a neutral park for lefty power, but Dickerson proved last season that he can still send pitches a long, long way, regardless of the park. He is a danger to get platooned for a RHB, because he is absolutely awful in same-handed matchups (.074 ISO, .259 wOBA, 61 wRC+ last season), but the potential reward outweighs the risk in this one.