As of July 3 last season, Astros DH Chris Carter was hitting .182, with 13 home runs, playing pretty much every other day.

On July 4, he homered against the Angels. The next day, he did the same. On July 8, Carter sent two out against the Rangers. On July 10, he hit another two against the Red Sox.

If you had the foresight to add Carter to your team on July 7, after the back-to-back games with home runs, you would have been treated to 22 home runs and a .264 batting average over the next 70 games. If you waited until after that second two-homer game … he probably was on someone else’s team already.

And there lies the age-old conundrum: When does one pounce? The move requires a good amount of faith, a little research and some smart roster management.

Faith. Carter may not be the best example, but if you had been a fan in 2013 — Carter hit 29 home runs in 506 at-bats — you likely thought he wasn’t going to wallow at .182 all season. Once he homered in two straight games, you would have pounced (2015 equivalent: Jedd Gyorko).

Research. J.D. Martinez started a 14-game hit streak on June 9 last year — a run in which he hit .411 with a 1.299 OPS and six home runs, blasting him into fantasy relevance. If you finally came around on adding him after the streak, he was long gone. But those who added him a few games into the streak probably took a look at Martinez’s minor league stats, which showed a hitter with great batting average potential and maturing power who just needed regular playing time (2015 equivalent: Carlos Peguero).

Roster Management. This one is simple — don’t drop a cold hitter just to pounce on a player who is on a hot streak. There are limits to pouncing! (2015 equivalent: adding Ender Inciarte for Starling Marte).

For more from Nando Di Fino and the Fantasy Sports Network team, tune into FNTSY on Cablevision Ch. 147. You can also hear Nando on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio’s “RotoExperts” show weekdays from 9-11 a.m.