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

Jeremy Hellickson (R), Orioles

FanDuelDraftKingsOppFIPK%GB%Opp Run TotalMoneyline
$6,900$7,700@ LAA5.3513.6%34.6%5.25-117

I feel like I always say something along the lines of, "I can't believe I'm recommending...". But alas, here we are again. Jeremy Hellickson looked good in his first outing for the Orioles. Hellickson went seven scoreless innings against the Royals, and Hellickson gets another good matchup against the Angels. Hellickson's numbers do not look great, but facing the Angels really should benefit him. The Angels batting average against righties this year is just a woeful .246, ranking seventh worse in the majors. Although none of Hellickson's numbers look too good, he has put up slightly better numbers against righties on the year. The ballpark is also going to be favorable for Hellickson.

Top GPP Hitters

Jose Altuve (R), Astros

FanDuelDraftKingsOpp Pitcher
& Handedness
wOBA vs LHPISO vs LHPwRC+ vs LHPBatting
Order
Team
Run Total
$4,200$5,400Derek Holland - L.427.24517425.75

Jose Altuve is just a phenomenal hitter. As evident by his above splits, he takes it to another level when he's facing a lefty. He's not a huge power hitter, but does have 16 on the year. Of those 16, Altuve has hit six of those against lefties, in just 98 at-bats. Altuve hasn't had the best start to the month, with a wOBA of just .303, but it's still very early. He is coming off of a month though where he hit .485. But what I really like about Altuve is that he gets to face Derek Holland. Holland once was a top propspect, but he struggled at times and now, injuries have done him in. Holland comes into this game with a robust 5.27 ERA. Against righties, he''s allowing a .397 wOBA on the year. He's also allowing a 2.36 ERA to righties on the season as well. Believe it or not, Holland's last start was a quality start against Toronto. However, his overall numbers are extremely poor, and one start isn't going to change my mind about him.

Jake Lamb (L), Diamondbacks

FanDuelDraftKingsOpp Pitcher
& Handedness
wOBA vs RHP



ISO vs RHPwRC+ vs RHP



Batting
Order
Team
Run Total
$3,600$4,600Kenta Maeda - R.408.28614733.75

Jake lamb is another guy who absolutely destroys opposite handed pitchers. When you factor in that this game is in Arizona, you definitely have to like Lamb's chances. After a tough July (in regards to wOBA and batting average) for Lamb, it looks like he's back on track in August. In his short time in August, Lamb has compiled a .393 wOBA. He hasn't hit a home run in this month, but it's only been 17 at-bats. At home this year, Lamb has an ISO of .269 while hitting 13 of his 23 home runs at Chase Field. He also owns a .408 wOBA and .286 ISO against righties on the year. Although Kenta Maeda has only allowed three runs in his past four starts, he has only surpassed five innings once. He also owns a 4.74 ERA on the road this year. Chase Field is an extreme hitters park, and Maeda definitely has potential to struggle. In four starts at Chase Field in his career, Maeda is 2-2 with a 6.41 ERA.

Kendrys Morales (S), Blue Jays

FanDuelDraftKingsOpp Pitcher
& Handedness
wOBA vs LHP



ISO vs LHPwRC+ vs LHP



Batting
Order
Team
Run Total
$3,200$3,900C.C. Sabathia.399.22315155.5

It hasn't been a great year for Kendrys Morales, but his numbers against lefties have been pretty solid all year. Morales has taken lefties deep six times in just 94 at-bats. He owns a .340 batting average against lefties on the season. His hard hit rate is higher against lefties than it is against righties as well. He also has shown more power at home with a .250 ISO compared to .167 ISO on the road. In his career, Morales is 8-for-23 against C.C. Sabathia with a home run. As for Sabathia, he's allowed four runs in each of his past two starts. Righties own a .311 wOBA against Sabathia on the year. Oddly enough, Sabathia only owns a 2.29 ERA on the road this year. Sabathia has faced the Blue Jays three times this year and owns a 7.62 ERA against them.

Matt Wieters (S), Nationals

FanDuelDraftKingsOpp Pitcher
& Handedness
wOBA vs RHP



ISO vs RHP



wRC+ vs RHP



Batting
Order
Team
Run Total
$3,000$3,300Vance Worley - R.278.1216675.75

Please ignore Matt Wieters' numbers as he has been absolutely atrocious. Please focus on Vance Worley. Sure, Worley threw seven shut out innings against this same Nats team just a few days ago. However, veteran hitters, can learn from seeing a pitcher the first time around. This isn't the case for Wieters, as he sat out that contest, but I'm talking about his team mates. If they are able to hit Worley hard, Wieters can definitely benefit with more runners on base and more opportunities to get at-bats. Wieters and the Nats have a high run total of 5.75 and get the added bonus of playing this game at home. Wieters has been much better in Washington this year, with a .320 wOBA and a .141 ISO. As for Worley, he owns a 5.73 ERA on the road this year. He's also allowed a pretty hefty .341 ISO so far this season to righties.



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