MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-30-17

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

Alex Wood has gotten extremely expensive, but it's hard to deny that he's been absolutely phenomenal this season. It hurts me to say it, since I was such a naysayer of rostering Wood early on in the year. Although Wood's ERA is lower at home, it's still a minuscule 1.93 on the road, and with this game being at Petco, this definitely benefits him. In his past ten starts, Wood has only finished at least six innings in five of those starts. For almost anyone else, that would be a little concerning, but the fact that Wood has a 31.3% strikeout rate in that span really makes him an almost must play. Although he doesn't always go deep into games, the strikeouts he has compiled really makes a complete difference. Wood has only faced the Padres once this year, and it was out of relief. In that outing, which was his first of the season, Wood went two innings while allowing just a walk. As a team against lefties, the Padres are dead last in the bigs with an OPS of just .649. Overall, I really don't see any scenario where Wood gets hit hard tonight.

Top GPP Hitters

Since the Brewers are at home and facing a righty, Travis Shaw has a lot going for him. Clearly, Shaw has found a home in Milwaukee, boasting a .383 wOBA with 17 home runs on the year. Of those 17 home runs, ten of those have been hit off righties. Edinson Volquez sometimes is a good starting pitcher, but his struggles can occur in bunches. He actually is good at keeping the ball in the park, but away from Miami, his numbers do rise. Although Volquez only has a .93 HR/9 on the road, this ballpark could easily change that. Volquez also gives up a lot of hits, especially against lefties. Lefties own a .345 wOBA against Volquez on the year. With the power lefties like Shaw and Eric Thames, Volquez has a good chance of getting hit hard. Shaw has only faced Volquez four times and has one double and a walk in that span. With Shaw hitting eight home runs in 83 at-bats this month, he's clearly locked in.

Alex Avila must have been eating his Wheaties all year long because he's been amazing. Against right handed pitchers, you have to like Avila's chances. Somehow, a .245 career hitter is hitting .315 this year. I'm not complaining, especially when you can get this production from a catcher position. He's hit all 12 of his home runs this year against righties as well. He's also been great at home, posting a .480 wOBA compared to .336 wOBA on the road. Josh Tomlin comes into this game with an ERA over six and allowing a batting average of .319. Although righties have better numbers against Tomlin this year, lefties still own a .353 wOBA and has taken him deep six times for a HR/9 of 1.40. On the road, Tomlin also owns a terrible 5.50 ERA. Detroits ballpark might help him a bit, but I'm not sure anyone can save Josh Tomlin from an awful performance tonight. I definitely look forward to these Tigers bats, including Avila, going off tonight.

As my podmate Jason knows very well, I'm a huge fan of Daniel Descalso, and tonight is no different. There's a chance we see Descalso lead off again, but after his 0-for-5, manager Torey Luvello might but him back in his usual sixth spot, which really isn't a huge concern for me. Descalso is still priced fairly low and gives you a good mid range option at second base. In addition to having good numbers against righties on the season, Descalso has also been much better at home this year. He has a .368 wOBA and a .211 ISO at Chase Field. All five of Descalso's homers have also come at home. Jon Gray comes into this game after posting just three starts this season. He has only pitched past five innings once in that span while holding a 4.38 ERA. Away from Coors last season, Gray still held an ERA close to five. With Chase Field being another phenomenal hitters park, he could be in some trouble here.

No if's, and's, or but's about it, this is a complete punt option here. With Trea Turner's injury yesterday, it's either going to be Stephen Drew or Wilmer Difo getting the nod here. Clearly, Drew has a little more experience and slightly better numbers, so I'm pulling for him. Either option really isn't great, but if you can save some salary and get even a little production, you could be in good shape. It's not an ideal matchup against Mike Leake, but there's definitely potential. Leake has allowed a .303 wOBA to lefties on the season. Drew could catch some lightning in a bottle due to the superstars hitting around him. Even though Vegas is not a fan of the Nationals tonight, I feel like that is a little misleading.