MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 6-9-17

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

I don't typically recommend the top priced starter of the day for a GPP recommendation, but this is such a unique slate, that I feel I had to. What excites me about Kluber is his price tag on DraftKings. Nearing $13,000, you might see a bit of a dip in ownership level, mainly because there are a ton of viable bats on the slate, and well, Kluber just hasn't been that consistent this year, which is evident by his 4.36 ERA and injury. However, he still holds a respectable strikeout and ground ball rate. After missing a month, Kluber fired six shut out innings against the A's while striking out a whopping ten batters. He's expensive, but he definitely seems worth it in my book tonight.

Top GPP Hitters

Every other day basically I look at J.D. Martinez' numbers, and somehow I think they keep getting better. It's insane to think that he will be able to continue this pace all season, but I'm riding the Martinez train until it fails me. It also helps here that Martinez has a spectacular matchup against a lefty. Despite his inflated .897 wOBA and 1.273 ISO against lefties, his career numbers are still pretty good against lefties. What also helps here is the Green Monster. With Martinez' ability to pull the ball, he really should have no problems in my opinion taking Brian Johnson deep. Although Johnson had a terrific outing against the Mariners in his last start, I don't really see this one following suit. The Tigers are a much more righty heavy team, and if Johnson gets hit hard, this Boston Red Sox bullpen can be pretty awful at times.

I absolutely hate Chris Taylor's price on DraftKings, but he's totally viable on FanDuel. He could bat first again against a lefty, which definitely boosts his stock. Taylor also has good numbers against lefties on the year. As for the starter, Amir Garrett, has really struggled at times in his rookie season. He allowed eight earned runs in just two innings of work against Atlanta in his last start. Garrett is allowing a 7.65 ERA on the road while surrendering a 2.50 HR/9 to righties. His WHIP against righties is also 1.52. Overall, it's been a huge struggle for Garrett, as he has transitioned to the big leagues. Even though this is the Dodgers and in a poor ballpark for hitters, some hitters, like Taylor, should still connect tonight.

I'm going down narrative street with my buddy Wil today. Former Royals farm hand, Myers gets a chance to prove his old team wrong. Granted, this isn't the first series against the Royals, as he's faced them four times, but this is his first in a Padres uniform. It also helps that he's priced way down (since this is at Petco) and is facing a lefty. Although he doesn't have great numbers throughout his career against lefties, he actually has a higher ISO this season. And for a guy who has power like Myers, it only takes one swing of the bat to do some damage. In his last six game homestand, Myers did go deep once, so he does have some power at Petco. As for Skoglund, he's been a mixed bag all season. Yes, Skoglund might have a good outing here, but I definitely think he runs into trouble against Myers.

And we finally come to Brandon Drury, maybe the low priced hitter on FanDuel that I'm most excited for tonight. Why you ask? Well, Zach Davies is a very much so reverse splits type of guy, allowing a .382 wOBA and a 1.29 HR/9 against righties on the year. On that same accord, Drury has hit right handed bats well. While everyone will be focused on finding lefties like Gregor Blanco or Jeremy Hazelbaker, if they're in the lineup, I feel Drury will be a pretty sneaky play. Over his past ten games, Drury has cracked one home run and has a .305 wOBA. Drury has also looked great at home this year, compiling a .444 wOBA with four of his six home runs coming at Chase Field.