When Torii Hunter signed with the rebuilding Minnesota Twins, he wasn’t expected to be a much of a factor in fantasy baseball.
That view seemed justified when he batted .205/.244/.315 through the month of April, but all of a sudden, he’s been on an absolute tear at the plate.
See where Hunter fits in this week’s edition of Three Up, Three Down:
THREE UP
Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins 
Who saw this coming? The 39-year-old outfielder ranks No. 3 in Yahoo! leagues over the past seven days after accumulating nine runs, three home runs and nine RBI with a .379 average and 1.197 OPS. The Twins have been one of the hottest offensive teams in May and Hunter, who routinely bats out of the clean-up spot, has been a huge factor. He’s worth adding in all formats.
Michael Pineda, New York Yankees 
The New York Yankees pitcher was a popular sleeper heading into the regular season, but he’s been performing at an ace level. He has recorded two wins and two quality starts with 22 strikeouts, a 0.60 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP over his last 15 innings. After striking out a career-best 16 Orioles on Sunday, Pineda has a 54-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season. He could be a legitimate sell-high candidate if you could get a huge return in a trade.
Jimmy Paredes, Baltimore Orioles 
Steve Pearce put up a monster year out of nowhere last season and it appears the Orioles have another unheralded breakout candidate. Jimmy Paredes, a 26-year-old journeyman, has been tearing it up at the dish, reaching safely in nine straight games and recording 12 hits over that stretch. He is batting .360 with four runs, two home runs, five RBI and a 1.127 OPS over the last seven days and yet he’s only 36 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues. Why not take a shot if you’re in need of instant offence?
THREE DOWN
Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals 
Martinez only allowed five earned runs in five April starts, but his numbers dramatically turned for the worse in May. The 23-year-old Cardinals pitcher has allowed 14 earned runs over his last nine innings, issuing eight walks and 16 hits. He has massive upside, but his performance over the last week indicates there are going to be major speed bumps along the way.
Odubel Herrera, Philadelphia Phillies 
Entering the season Herrera was regarded by many fantasy analysts as a good source of cheap speed. However, speed is irrelevant if you can’t get on base. Herrera has posted a .160 on-base percentage since May 2 and has only recorded two stolen bases since Apr. 26. There has to be a more reliable source of speed on the waiver wire — even at the thin shortstop position. Herrera was Yahoo!’s most-dropped infielder this weekend.
Phil Hughes, Minnesota Twins After Hughes led MLB in strikeout-to-walk ratio by a large margin last year, it was fair to assume he would be a reliable addition to the bottom of a fantasy rotation. So far that hasn’t been the case. While the 32-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio has been great, his other numbers have been rough: 5.11 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and only two quality starts in 44 innings. Fantasy owners should move Hughes to the bench until he shows improvement.
