The starting rotation of the Minnesota Twins ranks 12th in the American League in strikeouts (463), sixth in ERA (4.3), and 11th in runs allowed (4.8). Journeyman softosser Livan Hernandez leads the team with eight wins. Needless to say, they aren’t the most flashy group in the league, but this patchwork rotation has spearheaded a 14-4 surge through interleague play that had the Twins just 1.5 games back of the White Sox in the AL Central entering Sunday.

Since giving up 8 earned runs in 3 innings June 8th against the division rival Chicago White Sox, righthander Kevin Slowey has been dominant in winning three of his last four starts. In 8 shutout innings Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the NL’s 8th best offense, Slowey struck out eight, retired the first 10 Brewers he faced and allowed only one baserunner to reach third base. Just as impressively, he did it with a fastball-laden 109 pitches, nibbling at corners like his mound opponent Ben Sheets. Read more »

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy baseball this season. He has drawn comparisons to Hall of Famer Rod Carew after hitting .342 in 2006 and following that up with a fantasy-friendly .306-19-97-93 campaign last year.

The Yankees rewarded him in the offseason with a long-term contract that guarantees $30 million over four years with two options that could net Cano $57 million. Despite the club’s vote of confidence, it took Cano until mid-May to get his average above the interstate and he has spent the first half floundering below .250. His peripherals have been hurt as well, and his current 12-homer, 66 RBI pace is well below what fantasy owners were expecting. Read more »