The third week of baseball is in the books.  Now we turn our focus to the future and decide who we want to start or sit in the upcoming matchups of the week.  In fantasy baseball it is important to be able to win as much as you can so you establish a solid placement in your league.  If you fall behind early it will be difficult to catch back up.  It is important to know who to sit out when you notice there is a bad matchup for that player or you notice a start of a cold streak occurring.

For week three the following players you are going to want to consider benching for the time being:

Starting Pitcher

Jered Weaver, Angels – Weaver has not been what the Angels have hoped for so far this season.  Through three starts he has no wins, two losses, 12 earned runs, and seven walks.  His ERA is over 5.0 and his strikeouts are not as high as we want.  The last two teams he pitched against were the Astros and the Mets who both are struggling and he gave up at least four runs in each game and did not record a win.  This week he is slated just for Wednesday where he will take on the Washington Nationals who are a very decent hitting team at this point in the season.  At least for this week you will want to have Weaver on your bench.

Relief Pitcher

Sergio Santos, Blue Jays – Santos was awful in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader, failing to retire a batter while issuing three walks and uncorking three wild pitches.  He ended up allowing three runs.  He entered in the eighth inning with a couple of men on base and a two-run lead, but made of mess of things.  His strikeout rate is great, but he's really struggled in general.  This week he will see the division rivals in the American League East in the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox.  Both have the ability to make late comeback and cause someone like Santos to have a blown save or two.  Even though he has started out quite hot, things look like they may cool off this week.

Catcher

Carlos Santana, Indians – Santana is not doing fantasy owners any favors lately unless you are playing an opponent who has him on their roster.  Last week I had hit on out sit list and I was right.  This week I am predicting the same slump he is in.  Last week Santana was holding a .219 batting average with two runs scored and only a single RBI.  Now he is at a .157 batting average with the same lone RBI and six runs scored.  That is absolutely no help when trying to win a weekly matchup in your fantasy league.  Santana is slated to see some solid pitching from the Kansas City Royals in the first series of the week and then see another good rotation in the San Francisco Giants.  Being that he is so cold right now, it is probably best to keep him on the bench until you notice him warming up and collecting some more hits and runs.

First Base

Ryan Howard, Phillies – As of now, Howard is doing about what we have expected of him this early in the season.  He has three homeruns with seven RBI’s and eight runs scored.  His average is worrisome since he is batting at a .231 right now but like I said it is what we have expected from him.  Another negative is that he strikes out quite a lot, bringing his season total to 18 through just 58 plate appearances.  The Phillies desperately need their three-time All-Star to cut back on the whiffs, especially against southpaws, or a platoon may soon be in order.  Howard will see a strong Dodgers rotation and then a weaker one against the Diamondbacks later in the week.  His struggles point to having him on the bench for this week.

Second Base

Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox – Hard to think that you would consider sitting Pedroia who is such a strong player and can do great things at the plate.  He received a cortisone shot in his ailing wrist Tuesday, and this apparently did the trick, as he was able to fill the box score Wednesday night.  That being said his wrist is obviously in some pain and may lead him to the disabled list sometime in the future.  As of now he is ok but you never know what will happen.  Pedroia will see solid AL East pitching from the Orioles and the Yankees this week so having him on the bench will not be a bad idea to do while he tries to get his wrist back to 100 percent.

Third Base

Kyle Seager, Mariners – Seager has had a disaster of a season to date, hitting just .143 after goin 0-for-4 against the Rangers on Thursday.  After a strong 2013 in which he hit .260 with 22 homers, he should be able to get his season on track in the future but not the near future.  Seager has just two RBI’s to his name and three runs scored so far this season and this is definitely causing pain and agony to those who drafted him in our fantasy leagues.  This week he will face the Astros and the Rangers where he will likely continue his struggles.  Earlier this week when he faced the Rangers he went 3-for-16 in the series and do not expect that to get any better the second time around.

Shortstop

Jonathan Villar, Astros – Villar is in a bit of a slump, going 1-for-22 with eight strikeouts over his past seven games as of Friday.  Marwin Gonzalez will bat ninth and start at shortstop in his stead for the short time being.  This means that Villar’s job may be at stake if he doesn’t pick it up over the next couple weeks.  That being said it will be best to sit Villar or possibly even drop him overall due to his lack of performance.  Villar will see a strong pitching staff in the Mariners and then face the Athletics later in the week.

Outfield

Billy Hamilton, Reds – It is still a slow beginning for the rookie season of Hamilton.  The speedster has just four stolen bases so far and is batting a .170 with one RBI and five runs scored.  He will face the Pirates in the first series of the week and then travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves who have a very good pitching staff on hand.  Hamilton stole two bases against the Pirates earlier this past week but was also caught stealing by Russell Martin.  That is something to keep in the back of your mind when you are thinking about starting or sitting Hamilton.  I suggest you bench him.

Teams (hitters) with bad matchups: Mets, Pirates, Red Sox

Teams (pitchers) with bad matchups: White Sox, Blue Jays, Rockies