Fantasy Baseball 3 IN/OUT week 7

Because it’s never too early to start thinking about your next week’s matchup.

FANFOOD 3 IN/OUT

-   Week 7 –

Each week, the FANFOOD 3 IN/OUT will not include players that are locks for your starting rosters, just the ones that are considered “fringe” starters. The 3 IN/OUT are the ones that you may have on the bench or ones that you can find on the waiver wire. Either way, they are the players you should start and players you need to bench. As always we will talk about 6 players that can help or hurt your team in week 7.  And, it’s followed by a great recipe. This time it’s the BB Cuban Sandwich.

Lets get to it.

3 IN

Kelly Johnson – 2B/LF, TB
week 7 matchups: vs. BOS, @ BAL
Kelly got off to a slow start, leading many fantasy managers resigned to the fact that his solid power was simply not worth the hit to his batting average, but since the beginning of May he has raised that average from .227 to .278 and is scoring runs. Ride him while he is hot.

J.J. Hardy – SS, BAL
week 7 matchups: vs. SD, vs. TB

J.J. received an injection in his elbow from Angels team doctor Lewis Yocum on Tuesday. That was nice. Hardy has a slight case of tennis elbow. He currently has a modest 6-game hit streak and is another one to plug into your lineup while he is hitting.

Allen Craig – 1B/LF/RF, STL
week 7 matchups: vs. NYM, VS MIL

Allen hit his second home run in his last three contests on Tuesday night against the Cubs. After not homering in the first 27 games this season, the 28-year-old told MLB.com that he shortened his swing and made a tweak to his batting stance, which has yielded some early results. “Sometimes you just need to do it once so you can get the feeling,” Craig said Wednesday. “I think it took some time to get my timing back. I was hitting some balls hard before, it just wasn’t enough.”

3 OUT

Will Middlebrooks – 3B, BOS
week 7 matchups: @ TB, @MIN

Last night, Middlebrooks doubled to deep center in the second for his only hit of the night. He finished 1 for 4 in a 5-3 defeat. He is hitting .192 (5 for 26) with seven strikeouts since the start of May. He is hitting .194/.229/.379 with six homers and 12 RBI in 124 at-bats. Will called out for the trainer while in the field in the third and had a little talk with manager John Farrell at the time, but he stayed in and played the rest of the game. He can’t be counted on in week 7.

Erick Aybar – SS, LAA
week 7 matchups: vs. KC, vs. CHW

Erick Aybar left Thursday’s game with right hamstring tightness. Angel’s manager Mike Scioscia thinks Aybar will avoid the DL, so it must be a mild strain. Brendan Harris will likely handle shortstop for a few days. He had a nice hit streak snapped (9 games), but with the tight hammy and the fact that he has 0 homeruns and 2 RBIs on the year, bench.

Rickie Weeks – 2B, MIL
week 7 matchups: @ PIT, @ STL

Weeks was taken out of Wednesday’s game as part of a double-switch. That is not a good sign. He has been struggling this year, hitting just .188/.301/.291. He was dropped to seventh in the order for that game. Ron Roenicke has stuck with Weeks through struggles before and told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he moved the 30-year-old down in the order to take some pressure off him. “Rick’s always hit. I think Rick will hit. I started him at second, moved him to fourth and then fifth, and somewhere in there, there has to be production for the team,” Roenicke said. “More important in the long run is, how do we get him swinging?” I don’t know maybe Wednesday’s events suggest he may try and give his second baseman a rest while he works through his issues at the plate. You should give him a rest also.

Two-Start Pitcher of the Week

The FANFOOD 3 IN/OUT Two-start pitcher will not include top tier starters. Those pitchers will always be on your starting roster for the upcoming week. It’s those fringe starters, the ones you use to fill your last roster spot that we think will give you 2 quality starts in one week.

Here are the must start top options and their scheduled opponents in week 7:

• Felix Hernandez, 5/14 @ NYY Hughes 5/19 @ CLE Kazmir
• Lance Lynn, 5/13 vs NYM Hefner 5/18 vs MIL Peralta
• Anibal Sanchez, 5/13 vs HOU Norris 5/18 @ TEX Grimm
• Jake Peavy, 5/14 vs MIN Correia 5/19 vs LAA Vargas
• Matt Moore, 5/14 vs BOS Doubront 5/19 @ BAL TBD
• C.C. Sabathia, 5/13 @ CLE Kazmir 5/19 vs TOR Happ
• A.J. Burnett, 5/13 vs MIL Peralta 5/18 vs HOU Lyles
• Doug Fister, 5/14 vs HOU Harrell 5/19 @ TEX Holland
• Jordan Zimmermann, 5/13 @ LAD Beckett 5/18 @ SD TBD

FANFOOD PICK:

Travis Wood, CHC
Scheduled week 7 starts: 5/13 vs. COL (Nicasio) & 5/19 vs. NYM (Gee)

Travis Wood has been getting more ground balls this season. He had an issue with home runs last season, giving up 25 in 156 innings and has been a poor ground ball pitcher over his career, with a career 33.5 percent ground ball rate. He’s been able to increase that to 40.9 percent this season. The new approach has helped him keep the ball in the park more to begin the year. He is nice two-start option for you in week 7.

Other Two-Start Pitchers for week 7:

• Mike Minor, 5/13 @ ARI Miley 5/19 vs LAD Beckett
• Derek Holland, 5/14 @ OAK Colon 5/19 vs DET Fister
• Homer Bailey, 5/14 @ MIA Sanabia 5/19 @ PHI Kendrick
• Justin Masterson, 5/13 vs NYY Phelps 5/18 vs SEA Maurer
• Wade Miley, 5/13 vs ATL Minor 5/19 @ MIA Sanabia
• Jake Westbrook, 5/14 vs NYM Gee 5/19 vs MIL Lohse
• Justin Grimm, 5/13 @ OAK Griffin 5/18 vs DET Sanchez
• Kyle Lohse, 5/14 @ PIT Locke 5/19 @ STL Westbrook
• Dan Haren, 5/14 @ LAD Kershaw 5/19 @ SD Marquis
• A.J. Griffin, 5/13 vs TEX Grimm 5/19 vs KC Mendoza
• Barry Zito, 5/14 @ TOR Romero 5/19 @ COL Francis
• Josh Beckett, 5/13 vs WAS Zimmermann 5/19 @ ATL Minor
• Hector Santiago, 5/13 @ MIN Hernandez 5/18 @ LAA Wilson
• Jason Vargas, 5/14 vs KC Guthrie 5/19 vs CHW Peavy
• Felix Doubront, 5/14 @ TB Moore 5/19 @ MIN Hernandez
• Bud Norris, 5/13 @ DET Sanchez 5/19 @ PIT Locke
• Jeff Locke, 5/14 vs MIL Lohse 5/19 vs HOU Norris
• David Phelps, 5/13 @ CLE (1) Masterson 5/18 vs TOR Buehrle
• Dillon Gee, 5/14 @ STL Westbrook 5/19 @ CHC Wood
• Jeremy Hefner, 5/13 @ STL Lynn 5/18 @ CHC Feldman
• Jason Marquis, 5/14 @ BAL Tillman 5/19 vs WAS Haren
• Wily Peralta, 5/13 @ PIT Burnett 5/18 @ STL Lynn
• Scott Kazmir, 5/13 vs NYY Sabathia 5/19 vs SEA Hernandez
• Juan Nicasio, 5/13 @ CHC Wood 5/18 vs SF Lincecum
• Joe Blanton, 5/13 vs KC Mendoza 5/18 vs CHW Santiago
• Jeff Francis, 5/14 @ CHC Villanueva 5/19 vs SF Zito
• Pedro Hernandez, 5/13 vs CHW Santiago 5/19 vs BOS Doubront
• Alex Sanabia, 5/14 vs CIN Bailey 5/19 vs ARI Miley
• Luis Mendoza, 5/13 @ LAA Blanton 5/19 @ OAK Griffin

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BB Cuban Sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

1 French bread baguette (10 ounces), cut lengthwise in half
¼ cup Barbecue Sauce of your choice
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
4 ounces Boars Head Low Sodium Ham
4 slices of American Cheese
8 Dill Pickle Chips
4 slices cooked Bacon, cut in half

PREPARATION:

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350° to 450°F).

Cut baguette into 4 pieces. Spread cut sides with barbecue sauce, then mayo.

Fill with remaining ingredients.

Grill over direct medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown, using a grill press or heavy pan to flatten the sandwiches slightly while grilling.

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