MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 5-18-17

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.

Only 5 games tonight, and it is a somewhat ugly slate for pitching options. Plenty of risk, with modest upside.

Top GPP Pitcher

Montgomery is my GPP pick from some lousy options tonight. Marcus Stroman is our projected highest scoring pitcher, and likely the safest bet, but the Royals are simply not the hitting experts of past seasons this year, and add in the fact that Montgomery is a lefty with some of the Royals most dangerous hitters being left-handed is certainly a plus as well.

His last outing wasn't fantastic, but not disastrous against the potent Astros lineup. Prior to that start he pitched 5 and 6.2 innings of 3 hit ball to the Orioles and Cubs.

Tonight he is favored to win, and the Royals only projected for 3.5 runs, so Montgomery could be a lower owned pitching option with higher upside. His 8.9 K per 9 ratio is solid, and he should be able to get you a quality start tonight as well. Montgomery is averaging 15 points on DraftKings and 29.7 on FanDuel, good for third highest among tonight's starting options.

Top GPP Hitters

A lot of Green in the Optimizer tool for Betts tonight, and for good reason. He is our top projected hitter on the evening with 12.99 FanDuel points projected, and a 0.396 wOBA against right-handed pitchers. Betts has been averaging 16+ DraftKings points over his last 10 games and is clearly heating up. Sonny Gray has only had 3 starts, and although the pedigree remains he hasn't been an imposing pitcher this season only averaging 9.4 DraftKings points on the year.

With his high wOBA, a shaky pitcher and a projected 4.75 runs scored the Red Sox phenomenal lead-off hitter should be in for a nice night. Lock him in.

Bellinger has proven his worth and ability since his call up for the Dodgers. He is averaging 10.8 DraftKings points a game along with 7 homers on the young season. His price is sky rocketing, but he is still meeting value on many nights. We also have him projected for 12.51 FanDuel points tonight making him the top 1st baseman for tonight's small slate. Bellinger has been good versus anyt pitcher, but tonight he gets an underwhelming Volquez who happens to be a righty. Advantage Bellinger, and he will be one of my locks tonight for certain.

Pederson is a player the optimizer loves tonight. His numbers and 2017 season so far have not been exceptional to say the least. Typically batting first against right-handed pitching we project him there tonight as well. However, he was recently moved down in the order so that is something to keep tabs on as well.

Either way, this is a favorable matchup and Pederson's power has been bottled up long enough. Tonight may be the night for a breaking out of his homer draught. His 0.379 wOBA is appealing, and he is noticeably cheaper on FanDuel tonight. Rough start to the season or not, We have him with a prjoected 10.68 FanDuel points.

A lefty vs righty matchup here adds enough appeal for me to take a flyer on Goins at second tonight. With some of the other options on the slate tonight going dirt cheap, or punting second base with hopes for some production is where I am looking tonight to save some money. If you have cap room Goins could be an easy pass. He has produced nothing but goose eggs over his past 4 games, so I wouldn't blame you at all.

We do have him with a 5.95 projection on FanDuel which is serviceable, and if you are only paying minimum salary here, that allows you to spend up elsewhere. Dustin Pedroia is our highest projected 2nd baseman tonight, but only with 4 more points projected, and nearly $1,200 more. If you are punting a position tonight, you could do worse than Goins. He could reward you at 1-3% ownership too!

Good Luck everyone!