Chris Davis

You hear about it every year: "Some good fantasy baseball sleepers for this year are..."

Sometimes they are wrong, while other times they are right. This year is no exception.

On draft day, fantasy baseball owners will grab who they believe to be the next great sleepers with the same thought in mind: There is nothing more exciting then grabbing an elite player in the later rounds.

So here are five players that could be the next diamond in the rough (All average draft positions according to ESPN.).

Chris Davis is a player that everybody clamored for last year.

Why wouldn’t you? He hit .285 with 51 runs, 17 HRs, and 55 RBIs in 80 games as a rookie in 2008.

Despite his recent hot streat, rumors have been swirling about the Red Sox' desire to replace David Ortiz.

JJ Hardy, Jeff Francouer, Hanley Ramirez and Adam Dunn's names have been tossed around, but one name that's less famous is Chris Davis. Davis has been knocking the stuffing out of the ball in 59 games.

First, I just have to say how annoying it is the DVR stops at a certain time instead of going until the game is over. You'd think they could solve that problem.

As for the game—it was a beauty—especially since my wife is a Red Sox fan. When someone you love is a fan of a team you just beat, it makes winning that much better.

Kevin Millwood came out firing tonight, and it showed right until he left the game. He was consistently getting his fastball up to 93 mph, and he had some pretty wicked curveballs.

Let's get one thing straight before we go any further.

Chris Davis can flat out hit.

He can mash with the best of them, which is why the Rangers have got to get him back on track.

At the moment, Davis is stuck in a ridiculous slump that begins and ends with confidence. His body language both going to the plate and heading back to the dugout screams of defeat, even before he steps in the box.

For whatever reason, this slump has gone to the kid's head. That is what needs to be fixed. If it was a mechanical issue, Rudy Jaramillo would have it fixed by now.

Leading the AL West over the Angels by 1.5 games and still unbeaten against the Mariners this year, the Rangers went into last night's game looking to continue their winning ways.

Texas sent Brandon McCarthy to the mound as he looked to redeem himself after getting blown-up in his last start in Oakland.  Brandon also had a personal battle, he has yet to pitch seven complete innings in a Rangers uniform. 

Wednesday night against the Mariners he was able accomplish both goals.

The first two times that I wrote this piece it was predicting what the Texas Rangers organization was going to do in regards to the 25-man roster.

Well now with the season only a couple days away, the roster has been set, and the team is ready for the 2009 season.

Along with the players are the positions that they will be fulfilling and their projected stats (according to CBS Sports Fantasy Baseball).

STARTING ROTATION

Kevin Millwood - 12-11, 4.50 ERA, 129 K, 49 BB

Vicente Padilla -12-10, 4.32 ERA, 134 K, 60 BB

This is a projection on the players that I believe will make up the Texas Rangers 25-man Major League roster come Opening Day.

Since Spring Training is still not over, obviously this is not my final list and I will make adjustments by the week and as we get closer to Opening Day.

Those players that are italicized are players that I believe are locks for the 25-man roster, and the stats listed with them are their 2008 season stats.

STARTING ROTATION

Kevin Millwood- 9-10, 5.07 ERA, 168.2 IP, 125 K, 49 BB