MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 8-26-17

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

Kyle Hendricks is my guy here. This slate is terrible for pitching, and I happen to like the other Chicago pitcher here too. But back to Hendricks. The Phillies did well to get to Quintana last night, but I don't see a repeat performance. Hendricks has pitched well since coming off the DL, and is priced well for this slate. Pairing him with top offenses on this slate seems to be the way to go. He's my cash game option, as well as the GPP arm I like.

Top GPP Hitters

Nolan Arenado is in a great spot here tonight. Sean Newcomb isn't terrible, but he's susceptible to the long ball. Arenado has been carrying this team for a couple weeks now, and will need to continue that for the Rockies to hold on to the Wild Card. Arenado has been crushing lefties all year, and I really like him to go yard here. He's my HR pick on the slate, and is worth his hefty price tag in GPP's and cash games.

I love Pham tonight. He has a lot of power against left-handed pitchers, and he's been a solid piece for the Cardinals in the 2-hole this season. Blake Snell has been roughed up away from home, and I expect that to continue tonight. The Cardinals are one of my favorite stacks of the night, and Pham is a contrarian play tonight. Cardinals righties should be a nice contrarian stack on the slate. Pham is mainly a GPP play, but I don't mind him in cash.

After starting out the season hot, Morrison has taken a little bit of a backseat role. He still bats right in the thick of this lineup, which should give him plenty of opportunities, and has a great chance to produce tonight. Mike Leake, who also started the season on fire, has finally came back down to reality, and has been roughed up his last few times out. I like the Rays lefties, and this game stack in general, in GPP's.

After disappointing against Jared Eickhoff last night, I expect the Cubs to jump all over Ben Lively tonight. I like Jon Jay here, with all things considered. He's the leadoff batter for a team with a five run total, and has hit for a good average this season, as well as offering speed upside in this match up. He's in play in cash games as well, but i like him in GPP's as part of a Cubs stack.