FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Friday, May 4

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ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 07: Justin Upton #8 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim watches his hit go for a two-run homerun during the fourth inning of the MLB game against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on April 7, 2018 in Anaheim, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-3. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

Angels at Mariners

Angels Probable Starter – Garrett Richards, RHP

4.88 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 12.04 K/9

Vs LHH – .172 average, .316 wOBA and 29.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .265 average, .334 wOBA and 33.3 hard contact rate

Richards is a total trap play tonight. Maybe the injuries have taken their toll on him, which would be unfortunate. His strikeouts are there but he’s still not too useful for fantasy. The Mariners rank in the top 10 against righties in average, OPS, ISO and wOBA. On top of that, they carry one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball against the handedness as well. Especially on the road, I want nothing to do with Richards.

Mariners Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Nelson Cruz, Mitch Haniger

Secondary Options – Jean Segura, Dee Gordon, Robinson Cano

Mariners Probable Starter – Mike Leake, RHP

6.48 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 5.94 K/9

Vs LHH – .289 average, .353 wOBA and 37.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .300 average, .409 wOBA and 47.9 hard contact rate

Leake has seen his ground ball rate plummet and his hard contact go way up. That;’s bad news for a lot of pitcher. For Mike Leake, it’s basically a death sentence. He cannot survive if he’s not getting ground balls, he doesn’t really have any other weapons to get the job done. After the Angels mashed last night, this is an all hands on deck situation for them tonight. Any Angels bat can be in play.

Angels Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler

Secondary Options – Andrelton Simmons, Shohei Ohtani, Zack Cozart

Home Run Pick – Justin Upton

SEATTLE, WA – APRIL 18: Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros and catcher Brian McCann #16 of the Houston Astros meet at the pitcher’s mound during a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on April 18, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Astros won the game 7-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian McCann;Gerrit Cole /

Sample Lineup with An Ace

P – Gerrit Cole

C/1B – Logan Morrison

2B – Brian Dozier

3B – Jedd Gyorko

SS – Didi Gregorius

OF – Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist, Brett Gardner

Utility – Ian Kinsler

I’m tempted to just punt a couple spots even in my cash lineup to get a third Yankee in this lineup. For now, we’ll try to strike some balance with an ace pitcher and pray the Yankee chalk doesn’t bite me. It’s definitely more difficult to make everything work with Cole so we also have a lineup with a cheaper pitcher to get that third Yankee.

Sample Lineup without and Ace

P – Mike Foltynewicz

C/1B – Tucker Barnhart

2B – Ian Kinsler

3B – Pedro Alvarez

SS – Didi Gregorius

OF – Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Derek Dietrich

Utility – Justin Bour

Stanton is likely the one who could change but I want as many Yankees as I can tonight. The matchup with Josh Tomlin is just that tasty. We’ll chase a couple cheap Marlins that get to see a huge park upgrade and hopefully Barnhart and Alvarez can do enough to help us out.

Stacks to Consider – Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Angels, Reds, Brewers

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30 Best OF of All-Time

As always, may fortune be on your side and make sure to follow me on Twitter @bucn4life as MLB allows late swap. If there’s a late scratch and/or lineup cards aren’t put in for the late games, this article will always be updated on Twitter ASAP.