MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-24-15

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 Pitchers

Jimmy Nelson's ERA of over six in June will keep his ownership numbers pretty low tonight. Nelson's main struggles have come against left-handed bats, allowing a .393 wOBA. Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda are really the only two that can give him big trouble, yet they are both more boom or bust style players. Nelson has turned in a fair amount of GPP worthy lines this season. He can dial up the strikeouts from time to time, despite just a strikeout rate near 20%. Nelson has a 10.8% swinging strike rate, which ranks third among tonight's starters. The Mets have a 20.5% strikeout rate and rank 24th in wRC+ against right-handed pitching. With a win needed much more on FanDuel, he is a little riskier, given the Brewers ability to provide run support.

A pitcher against the Padres, real original. All those offseason moves and talks of NL West contenders have died down, and they are now back to what they were in 2014. DFS pitching targets. They have a 22.4% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching, which gives Ryan Vogelsong some slight upside in the strikeout department. They also rank 22nd in wRC+. Vogelsong is coming off a nice start against Seattle, which is impressive given him struggling against left-handed bats for his career. He has a 3.13 ERA at home, compared to a 5.31 on the road. Pitching in AT&T park has been crucial for him maintaining the average pitcher label. Whether you want to go cheaper at SP2, or roll him out with a stacked lineup, he can be used both ways in GPPs tonight.

Top Hitters

Sometimes chalk plays need to be in GPPs, which is the case anytime Giancarlo Stanton faces a lefty. Because there is a Coors game, it may keep his ownership lower than what it usually is, yet still at an average percentage owned. Stanton has 11 homers this month, and I would not be surprised if that number went up tonight. He has a .528 ISO against lefties this season with a ridiculous 50% hard hit ball rate. Jaime Garcia is a serviceable lefty, yet not one who Stanton can't handle.

This may be one of the few times this season that I have felt comfortable recommending David Ortiz. He is allowing a .424 wOBA to lefties this season, which goes along with his career .355 allowed. Lefties have near a 45% hard hit ball rate and a 29% line drive rate off Norris. The one thing that makes Ortiz a GPP play tonight is Fenway Park, a really tough park for lefties to get one out. I wouldn't put it past Ortiz, he is just more suited for GPPs at this point. In 2014, only 11 of his 35 homers came at home, while many came in divisional stadiums with nice park factors for lefty bats. June has had a month of big improvement, with a .353 wOBA, and a 35% hard hit ball rate. Those are all up dramatically from April/May.

This lefty masher will definitely be lower owned tonight with Stanton and Coors ranked far ahead of Nelson Cruz. He was back in the lineup last night, so he seems healthy enough to play after leaving during the weekend. On FanDuel, his price is super cheap and he will have a matchup to feast on. Danny Duffy is making his first start off the DL and has allowed a .376 wOBA to right-handed bats this season. Duffy skated by last season with an ERA in the mid-twos and never quite regressed. The regression was delayed, and he has certainly been mediocre in 2015.

With Nolan Arenado at home against a bad right-handed pitcher, Joey Gallo is going to be a great GPP play. With Adrian Beltre back, he moved up to second in the order and played left field. Gallo has power for days, but he has a high strikeout rate to go with that. Kendall Graveman has only faced 127 lefties at the big league level but has allowed a .343 wOBA, and a 4.90 FIP. Graveman relies on his sinker, cutter, and fastball mainly, while he does not throw his off-speed too often. This bodes well for Gallo tonight, and boy when he makes contact it goes. He has a 48% hard hit ball rate off right-handed pitching in his short career.

Neil Walker has missed some time and has been inserted back in the lineup. PNC is not a place to really search for value power, which is why he will be very low owned tonight. Hitting fourth as a lefty against Mike Leake is a great spot since Leake has always had poor numbers against lefties. Since 2012, he has allowed a .336 wOBA, with a 23% line drive rate. Walker has duplicated his 2014 numbers, but still has a 35% hard hitball rate off right-handed pitching.

Value and Platoon Plays

Salvador Perez (C - KC) FD: $2,400 DK: $3,500

Salvador Perez will be completely overlooked tonight, just given the park factors and other games going on. He is still dirt cheap and has a .342 wOBA off lefties in the last three seasons. He has just a 9.1% strikeout rate in that span, which is better than any of the lefty mashers in this article. He could be sneaky in GPPs, especially if a lot of the boom or bust catchers ahead of him bust.

Rougned Odor (2B - TEX) FD: $2,200 DK: $3,200

Rougned Odor has been up for the past few games, but he's been in and out of the lineup with tough lefties on the mound. He already has a couple three-hit games and two stolen bases since being called back up. If he continues at a pace similar to the one over the last week his price will rise. Take advantage of him in the leadoff spot against Graveman tonight before we see his price tag go up some. He was hitting .352 in his Triple-A stint, and it is a little early to tell, but it seems it has carried over so far.

Adeiny Hechavarria (SS - MIA) FD: $2,500 DK: $3,200

After Adeiny Hechavarria made me look bad with an 0-for-4 performance against CC Sabathia, I will still continue to target him against lefties. You have to have a short memory in this game. He has a .418 wOBA off lefties this season with a 32% hard hit ball rate. If he ends up in the top of the lineup, like he has a few times against lefties, his value will be through the roof. It is one of those slates where it is Troy Tulowitzki or go cheap.

Ben Paulsen (1B/OF - COL) FD: $3,100 DK: $3,400

This play is much more suited for DraftKings, just because Ben Paulsen is only first base eligible on FanDuel. On FanDuel, Gregory Polanco is only $2,500, while his priced jumped $800 on DraftKings since yesterday. Paulsen has 152 plate appearences at the big league level against right-handed pitching and packs a solid .382 wOBA. He will take on Allen Webster, who has allowed a .376 wOBA to lefties during his times in the majors.