GPP Tournament Picks: 8-17-15

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 Pitcher

While he does come in as an underdog in this one, Rodon has shown flashes of dominance over the past month, including an impressive 11 strikeout performance over seven scoreless innings against these same Angels on August 11th. While those numbers will be hard to replicate, he is receiving a significant park upgrade to Angels Stadium from U.S. Cellular Field tonight. He certainly doesn't come without risk, but the upside is there against an Angels team that is 24th in MLB with just a .295 team wOBA over the past 30 days.

Top Hitters

Along with the rest of the Brew Crew, Braun is in a great spot against southpaw Justin Nicolino tonight. Braun mashed a Grand Slam on Sunday to cap off a solid week (7-for-19, 2 homers, 6 RBI, 2 stolen bases). Braun is an elite hitter against southpaws, but isn't priced like it, especially on FanDuel. He has the ability to swipe a few bags as well, which only adds to his potential upside. Nicolino has only managed to pitch 9.2 innings over his last two starts, allowing nine earned runs with just two strikeouts.

Despite the tough matchup against Danny Salazar, the Red Sox offense has been white hot recently, and Bradley has been a huge part of the surge. He primarily bats ninth, but has posted massive totals over the past two weeks (.450 ISO, .525 wOBA, 249 wRC+). His lineup spot in itself will keep his ownership levels low, but he has 10 extra base hits in his last 47 plate appearances, and you'll be hard pressed to find a hitter in better form around this price tag.

With a low total and a good pitcher opposing him, Belt will fly under the radar in GPP action tonight. He has a .340 ISO and .431 wOBA over the last 14 days, including five home runs. While you likely aren't going out of your way to pick on Michael Wacha and his .266 wOBA allowed to left-handed batters this season, targeting a hot hitter at a low ownership can set you apart in large-field GPPs.

This one is pretty simple. One of the best lefty-mashers in baseball faces off against a southpaw in the Texas heat. While Cole Hamels is a fine pitcher, Nelson Cruz has been from another planet this season, leading all of baseball with 36 home runs. Over the last 14 days, Cruz has a ridiculous .523 ISO and .547 wOBA while mashing seven homers in just 11 games. He is as locked in as any player right now, and paying a premium for him tonight is a great way to go in GPPs.

Value and Platoon Plays

Mark Teixeira (1B - NYY) FD: $3,500 DK: $4,800

The Yankees are tied with the Indians for the highest team total on the night at 4.5 runs. Tex has absolutely destroyed right-handed pitching this season, with a .335 ISO and .399 wOBA when hitting from the left side of the plate. Opposing pitcher Kyle Gibson is an average pitcher and Vegas expects the boys in pinstripes to do some damage tonight.

Logan Forsythe (2B - TB) FD: $3,200 DK: $3,400

One of the most underrated hitters against lefties this season, Forsythe is an elite target against nearly any southpaw. He owns a .316 ISO and .394 wOBA this season when owning the platoon advantage, and Scott Kazmir has struggled over his past two starts. The park shift from Tropicana Field to Minute Maid Park is a juicy one as well.

Gerardo Parra (OF - BAL) FD: $3,300 DK: $3,800

Parra wasted little time getting acclimated to his new offense, and is on fire over his last three games, batting 10-for-15 with 2 homers, a double, 4 RBI, and 7 runs scored. He has elite numbers against righties (.203 ISO, .389 wOBA), and although Sonny Gray has pitched very well, he is coming off an injury and had his start pushed back from Thursday. Time to ride the hot hand here.