MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 5-8-17

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

Jacob deGrom is my top pitcher on this slate, and it's not even close. He has been on a tear this year so far, and striking out batters at a high rate. The Giants rank 29th in wOBA and wRC+ against opposing right-handed pitchers, and deGrom is in a great ballpark to succeed. He's much more in play on DK where he's only $100 more, but also that's the same thought process most will have. With all of the high-powered offenses on this slate (Coors, Nats), most may fade away from deGrom. I'm fitting him in everywhere I can.

Top GPP Hitters

This is the match made in heaven for Trea Turner. Turner is a reverse-splits batter, and Kevin Gausman is a reverse-splits pitcher, so this lines up to be a great spot for Turner here. Gausman has been terrible to start the season, and Turner has massive upside with his ability to get on base at a high rate, and his ability to steal bases. The Nationals are my favorite stack of the night, and Turner is the biggest reason why.

We have another reverse splits situation to exploit here. Nolasco has been better against lefties than righties, but isn't that great against either side to be honest. He struggles with opposing right-handed bats, and Krush Davis profiles very well in this matchup. He crushes right-handed pitchers, and has huge upside every night. It's also worth mentioning that Nolasco is dealing with a calf injury, and could be scratched or pulled early. I like Davis to go yard here as my HR pick of the night, and we should see slightly lower ownership with all of the other high run-total offenses on this slate.

This is an easy one for me. Bauer has started the 2017 season off on a bad note. 0.390 wOBA to lefties, and a 0.377 wOBA to righties is always something we want to target. Bauer has also been statistically worse over his career on the road. Morales is the ultimate GPP play. No one ever plays him, and I don't understand why. He out of Kansas City, and in one of the more favorable hitters parks in the Rogers Centre. His switch-hitting skills allow his to be matchup-proof against both hands. He should be a low owned first baseman, with massive GPP upside.

I have been playing Wilmer Flores against lefties for the last two years. He always seems to be a forgotten player in the DFS world, but should be on everyone's radar when there's a lefty on the mound. Just look at his numbers against southpaws. a 0.458 wOBA against lefties, and a 233 wRC+..... that's insane. On DK, he has dual-eligibility, and will garner slim to no ownership at 1B. He offers so much salary relief, and allows you to get your favorite stack or pitcher.