GPP Tournament Picks: 8-31-15

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.

Pitchers

With numerous aces on the mound today, Ross will likely go overlooked. Despite a tough matchup against the Rangers and their .322 team wOBA against right-handed pitchers, Ross has elite skills. His 62.5% ground-ball rate is the third-best in all of baseball, and his 0.28 HR/9 is tops among all qualified players.

While the Rangers are among the best in all of baseball against righties, they are below average on the road, sporting a .301 wOBA. Tonight's park shift to Petco Park will play right into Ross' strengths. Add in the fact that the Rangers have just a 3-run total, and Ross makes for a very intriguing GPP play.

With a close Vegas line, high price tag, tough matchup and ballpark, Archer is unlikely to have much cash game ownership. However, he provides immense upside in GPPs tonight. His strikeout rate of 31.1% ranks behind only Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw on the season, and the Orioles strike out a whopping 22.4% of the time against righties, third worst in the majors.

Archer has punched out nine-plus batters in five of his last seven starts, beginning with a six innings, one earned run, nine strikeout performance against this same team on July 24th. This play doesn't come without some risk at Camden Yards, but Archer has the highest upside of any pitcher on the board.

Top Hitters

Opposing pitcher Michael Lorenzen has allowed a ridiculous .440 wOBA to left-handed batters this season, and Rizzo is one of the best in the game from the left side (.263 ISO, .387 wOBA versus righties in 2015). The Cubs are tied for the highest non-Coors team total on the night, and Rizzo will be right in the middle of the anticipated onslaught.

"Big Papi" has been heating up once again, finding the seats in each of his last two starts. Ivan Nova has been a trainwreck against left-handed batters this season, allowing a .357 wOBA and walking more batters than he has struck out (11/10). The Red Sox have a huge team total as well, listed at 4.5, and targeting their best hitter at a discounted rate is a solid route to travel in GPPs tonight.

Peralta tends to be the forgotten man when the Diamondbacks draw a weak right-handed pitcher, and that may have just be the case again tonight if this game weren't being played in Coors Field. The D-Backs have a huge team total of five runs, and Peralta has destroyed rightiexs this season to the tune of a .236 ISO and .388 wOBA.

Opposing pitcher Chad Bettis has allowed a .314 wOBA to left-handed batters this season, which is just slightly below average. However, I'll side with the consistently solid batter in this matchup at Coors Field every single time, especially at his criminally low price tag.h

The hottest hitter on the planet draws a less than ideal matchup tonight against Danny Salazar, which should serve to depress his ownership. However, his staggering offensive numbers in the month of August put him firmly in play for me each night. He has an otherworldly .524 ISO, and .557 wOBA, including 11 homers and 35 RBI in the month of August in just 22 games.

Danny Salazar has allowed just a .275 wOBA to right-handed batters this season, but is also giving up 1.25 HR/9. There might not be a more likely candidate to find the seats any night right now than E5.

Value and Platoon Plays

Bartolo Colon (SP - NYM) FD: $7,600 DK: $6,800

Although Colon has been wildly inconsistent, he posted his best start of the season against this same team just two starts ago, pitching seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He is a sizable favorite at -190, and the Phillies have a team total of just three runs. He isn't the most exciting option, but he provides upside and stability for cheap.

Logan Forsythe (2B - TB) FD: $3,200 DK: $3,600

This price tag is a travesty considering the way that Forsythe has crushed lefties this season (.310 ISO, .410 wOBA). If you're a BvP believer, he is also 7-for-22 with three homers off Chen. The Rays have just a 3.5 run team total, but I'm always in favor of the over when they are facing a southpaw.

Derek Dietrich (3B - MIA) FD: $2,800 DK: $3,000

Another elite cheap platoon play is Dietrich, who squares off against Mike Foltynewicz and his pathetic .401 wOBA allowed to lefties this season. Dietrich owns a .293 ISO and .401 wOBA against righties. You do the math here.

Jhonny Peralta (SS - STL) FD: $2,200 DK: $3,300

Despite his recent struggles (.063 ISO, .259 wOBA in August), Peralta remains a solid play against lefties. He owns a .239 ISO and .340 wOBA against southpaws this season, and opposing pitcher Gio Gonzalez has had struggles with righties in 2015 (.336 wOBA allowed).

Chris Young (OF -NYY) FD: $3,200 DK: $2,900

My favorite player to roster against southpaws, Young makes for an intriguing play once again against Eduardo Rodriguez. Young has a .288 ISO and .425 wOBA against southpaws, and although Rodriguez has been solid against righties (.286 wOBA), Young remains an elite play.

Jonny Gomes (OF - ATL) FD: $2,500 DK: $2,400

No value or platoon article would be complete without a mention of Gomes and his solid numbers against southpaws (.219 ISO, .382 wOBA). Chris Narveson is arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball right now, allowing a .445 wOBA and four homers to right-handed batters in just 10 innings pitched this season. Gomes is an elite value/platoon play.