MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-1-17

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.

MONITOR WEATHER REPORTS TODAY.

Top GPP Pitcher

Eduardo has been fine over his past three starts with 20.7, 27.8, and 16.7 DraftKings points over those 3. Baltimore ranks 12th in batting average, 19th in runs scored and 11th in home runs so there is some risk, but Rodriguez has enough upside with a 3.56 FIP and just under a K an innning over his last 3 starts.

Rodriguez has a swinging strike rate of 12.9% along with a .42 HR allowed to lefties this season, but his 1.59 HR allowed to right-handed bats is a little concerning. He is facing Some big boppers on the right including Mark Trumbo, Manny Machado and Trey Mancini.

This is GPP though, and it is a small slate. I will not be 100% owning Eduardo today, but his K rate and upside is big and we have seen these same Baltimore bats struggle against comparable pitchers this year. Zack Greinke and Marco Estrada are fine plays as well, but they will be heavily owned, and cost significantly more.

Top GPP Hitters

In my last post I had listed Betts as my top play and he proceeded to provide us with a goose-egg. In the two games after Sunday he cranked out 21 and 19 DraftKings points. Last night he only ended up with 2 DraftKings points, but Betts should be the top option tonight facing the left-handed Miley. The Sox are projected for 5.25 runs scored tonight, and Betts leading off should be involved plenty with his .359 against lefties this season.

I doubt Betts will dissappoint me twice in a row

Lamb's pricing is significantly higher on DraftKings making him a riskier play on that site, but if you are going with Eduardo you likely can afford him either way. Lamb had himself a good night last night with a few doubles, and although he has 14 home runs on the season he hasn't hit one over his last 5 games.

Enter Jeff Locke and we may have a recipe for some power. I couldn't blame anyone for fading Lamb on DraftKings at top priced third baseman tonight, and his wOBA isn't amazingly high for his proce point, but I like this matchup, and with salary relief from playing Rodriguez he could work out very well and be owned less due to his price tag.

Owings comes in as the second highest proceed shortstop on DraftKings tonight, and his numbers against left-handed pitchers like Locke help explain why. Similiar to Lamb his price on DraftKings is significantly more than on FanDuel. Owings has produced in his last 7 games some form of Fantasy points, and tonight should be no different for Arizona's lead-off hitter. Owings hasn't swiped a bag in a while so that could certainly be a potential for tonight as well. After Owings and Xander Bogaerts the position is plenty risky and thins out quickly on the short slate. Pay up here and get a reliable shortstop tonight.

Calhoun has been struggling over the past month But since he took a seat for a game or two he hasn't been awful in his last four games with 5, 7 ,0, and 6 DraftKings points. He hasn't hit a home run since the 15th and is only hitting .209 on the season now.

Now it sounds like I am talking myself out of rostering him, but I like this price and he has the upside for a big game. Hoping his recent stretch is a sign of him poised for a big night and righting the ship. His performance against lefties has been significantly better this season, and if he faces the Twins glaringly weak bullpen some very good things could happen for Calhoun as well.This is a big risk, and if you have extra salary feel free to spend up. For me though I will be utiliizng Calhoun in hopes for low ownership and a home run

Good Luck everyone!