MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-5-17

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

This just seems like a great spot to attack in tournaments. The Blue Jays have been hot this past week, but their huge strikeout numbers against left-handers show huge upside for Sean Manaea tonight. If he can keep his walks in check, the potential for him tonight is enormous. With all of the high-priced bats I'm trying to get on this slate, Manaea fits in my lineups well, and gives me some much-needed salary relief with the chance to go off.

Top GPP Hitters

Out of all of the Astros to attack tonight, the majority of people won't be on Josh Reddick. Kennedy gives up a bunch of hard contact to left-handed hitters, and Reddick has tons of pop in his bat. I'm going to roster him in a lot of my GPP's tonight. He's priced up to a point where people won't take a chance on him outside of stacks, and that low ownership is exactly what I want.

I've always been a fan of using Matt Carpenter in DFS for two reason. One, he's pretty consistent, and two, he never has any ownership. I expect him to carry fairly high ownership tonight, but that's okay. His upside is enormous on this slate. Asher Wojciechowski is terrible, and gives up a bunch of hard contact to lefties. Even though he is only 1B eligible, I want him to be my first baseman tonight in GPP's.

I like Jedd Gyorko for the same reasons I like Carpenter. Asher is just a terrible pitcher, and there's no way around that. Gyorko is quietly putting together a very impressive season, and has been one of the most consistent hitters this season. The Cardinals stack is definitely on my radar tonight, and Gyorko is one of the guys I want in there tonight.

Michael Saunders price tonight.... just wow. He is facing Bartolo Colon in a great ballpark. That's all that needs to be said, but lets dig in a little bit. His hard contact to left-handed hitters is insane, and I really like Saunders at this price point. He has a ton of power from the left side, and SunTrust Park is great for left-handed hitters. He's a cash game and GPP play for me tonight.