MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-28-17

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

Godley has quietly put together an impressive 2017 campaign, where his 3.17 FIP ranks 11th-best among all pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings, and his 59.9% GB ranks 7th. Pitching in the hitters paradise of Chase Field has actually brought out the best in Godley, as he has allowed just a .212 wOBA and two home runs to opposing hitters in 25.1 IP at home. He has allowed three earned runs or less in every single start this season, and tonight he faces a Cardinals team that ranks 13th in baseball against RHP with a .324 wOBA. Over the last 7 days, the Cardinals own a 23.5% K rate, but have also hit 11 home runs as a team. Something has to give here in Chase Field, but my money is on Godley finding a way to subdue this sudden power surge by the RedBirds due to his elite GB rate. He makes for a low-owned option on a slate that should see Yu Darvish and Stephen Strasburg dominate ownership.

Top GPP Hitters

Travis Shaw has been posting monster numbers this season amidst his new role in Milwaukee, and most of his damage (expectedly) has come against right-handed pitchers, where he owns a .288 ISO and .401 wOBA. Opposing pitcher Luis Castillo served up a pair of homers in his ML debut, and although he didn't have much of an issue with the longball in the minors, he has pitched less than 100 innings at the AA level, and had never thrown a pitch at AAA or above until his debut against Washington. The Reds are decimated at the pitcher position, so it looks like he'll remain in the rotation for at least one more turn, and that is great news for the Brewers, who own a massive team total of 5.5 runs. Shaw has been my favorite player to target when the Brew Crew are facing a righty, as his positional eligibility keeps him lower owned. Fire him up once again tonight as he looks to build on the .360 ISO and five homers he has hit over the last 14 days.

The Tigers are in a great spot tonight against fly-ball pitcher Ian Kennedy and his atrocious 1.87 HR/9. Vegas has them pegged with a 5.5 run total, and Kinsler is a great way to get yourself some exposure at lower ownership. His year-long numbers don't look particularly impressive (.327 wOBA, .139 ISO vs RHP), but he has been on a tear of late, posting a .314 ISO and .366 wOBA over the last 14 days with four homers and four stolen bases. As I wrote this up, I just had to look and see Kinsler's history in the Ian vs. Ian battle, and the second baseman has gotten the best of the righty, going 7/15 with five XBH and just one strikeout. He should be a low owned option on this big slate, and he can provide value in a myriad of ways.

This one is the ultimate GPP play, because Marisnick isn't an everyday player, and when he is in this lineup, he generally bats 9th. With that said, the right-hander has shown massive power upside this season, blasting nine homers over just 77 PA against RHP this season with a ridiculous 1.045 OPS. While he almost certainly won't maintain those numbers, opposing pitcher Jesse Hahn has a tough task ahead of him tonight against baseball's best lineup, and Vegas certainly agrees, as the Astros currently have a Coors-esque run total of 5.75 runs. Hahn has just a 0.40 HR/9 this season, but was just torn to pieces by this same lineup in Oakland in his last start to the tune of 10 runs (9 earned) over just two innings of work. Sure, that number is very unlikely again, but Oakland also owns one of the worst bullpens in baseball, so tonight could be a huge night for the 'Stros, regardless of how long Hahn can remain on the mound.

Would you believe that Masahiro Tanaka would have the highest HR/9 of any on tonight's qualified pitchers? Of course you would, because he has been serving up longballs at an alarming rate all season (2.23/9, to be exact). Davidson has been mashing pitchers from both sides, and although his K rate (45.9%) against RHP is terrifying as well, he isn't the type of player we are targeting for a high floor. We are looking his way in hopes that he gets ahold of one against Tanaka, who has already served up 21 home runs on the season. Davidson has already taken RHP deep 13 times this season, and he will be very low owned on this big slate tonight.