MLB GPP Tournament Picks: 8-7-17

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

Jake Arrieta is a great leverage play tonight over Scherzer. Scherzer has to deal with weather issues, a power-heavy Marlins lineup and possible neck stiffness from last start. Arrieta is dealing with a weak Giants lineup in a great ballpark for pitchers. He is cheaper than Scherzer on both sites, and I could use the extra money for another hitter or my SP2. Scherzer has higher upside, but Arrieta's recent performances and great match up could say otherwise.

Top GPP Hitters

Anthony Rendon against a left-hander is an auto play for me every time out. He absolutely demolishes lefties as you can see by his numbers, and gets a terrible one tonight in Chris O'Grady. O'Grady has a below-average fastball, and minimal stuff. The Washington stack is definitely in play barring weather issues, but with the expensive pitchers on the mound that I want to use, Rendon will most likely be making my teams as a one-off.

Pittsburgh is in a great spot tonight, and they are led by the power here. Josh Bell has shown the power upside we've all been waiting fro from him, and he'll get a great chance to showcase that tonight against Jordan Zimmerman. Zimmerman has pitched better as of late, and will hopefully scare some people off of the Pirates, but he is bad, and this spot is too nice for Bell and the team to pass up.

Chacin is a pitcher I won't pick on in Petco, and someone I haven't picked on a lot this year, but will tonight with some one-off lefties from Cincinnati. Scooter Gennett is in a great spot tonight. The stack isn't in play for me due to the number of righties in the lineup, and Chacin's high ground ball rate. Gennett's too cheap on FanDuel, and his DraftKings price will lower his ownership. I like this spot for him tonight.

The power and speed upside tonight for Starling Marte against Zimmerman is endless. Zimmerman, as stated before, is terrible, and I will be picking on him a lot here. Marte's speed should get him at least one stolen base, and he is the anchor of this lineup on the verge of explosion tonight. I've liked the Pirates more and more, as they day has gone on, and I see myself on the verge of all-in as we approach lock.