FanHouse HankBlalock

"Taterjack" is a term I like to employ for a "home run." I find it to be awesome. Nearly as awesome as I found Chris Davis, the power-swinging, Texas Rangers first basemen ... before the season. But news hit the proverbial fan yesterday that Davis had been demoted and that he would no longer be on the Rangers' big league team.

This is highly problematic for fantasy owners who wasted used a high pick (and, invariably, it was high) on Davis: because he doesn't seem likely to get a lot more opportunity in the Rangers lineup. This is true for a number of reasons. First, he stinks. Second, Justin Smoak is the minors and probably ahead of Davis on the "track to the bigs" now. Additionally, Hank Blalock is playing first base. And, finally, the Rangers need pitching.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

You couldn't have scripted all of the twists and turns the first 20% of the season has taken thus far. And if you could have, would anybody really watch?

Who had Frank Francisco and Ryan Franklin as two of the closers tied for the major league lead with nine saves at this point in the season? And we all knew Zack Greinke had talent and could blow up at any time. But, a 5-1 record with a 0.51 ERA and a league-leading 59 strikeouts. Seriously?

Chris Davis was everyone's sweetheart in fantasy baseball draft season, and rightfully so. As a 22 year-old last year, the slugger burst onto the scene with 17 home runs and 55 RBI in only a half season. His power numbers in the minors provided us with plenty of evidence that this wasn't a fluke. Instead, through six games and 25 plate appearances, Davis has reached base only three times. He's only accrued 1 hit in 22 at-bats. So with that paltry .045 batting average, his owners have been rewarded with 0 home runs and 0 RBI.

Is this a bad omen? Does Davis really suck, or is he simply in an early season swoon?

MLB Power Rankings: Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.

Baseball is here. Only for three days so far, but that's enough for knee-jerk reactions and our collective excitement, certainly. Are the Yankees in trouble? Will Ken Griffey, Jr. lead the Mariners back to glory? Are the Orioles for real? Are the Braves bound for the playoffs again? Will the Marlins manage to save baseball and win the National League East? What happens when Jim Thome and Kyle Farnsworth meet in a hadron collider?

Find out the answers to these questions -- and more! -- after the jump.

Everyone can have a good day every once in a while, right? I think the most repeated cliche to represent this is "Every dog has his day".

Well, let me give you another cliche, "A river begins with one drop of water". To slant that one into fantasy baseball speak I'll say that even though it's just one game, players who shined on day one of the Major League baseball season might just be starting a trend that will last a long time. Joe DiMaggio had to start his 56-game hitting streak with the first hit, right?

A lot of players shined yesterday in baseball's Opening Day. Here are ten players who are available in many of your fantasy leagues, ranked from highest percentage of ownership to lowest.

1. Hank Blalock, Rangers - Blalock went 2-4 yesterday with a home run and three RBI. Most people are waiting for some part of his body to fall off or spontaneously combust, which is why he's only owned in 52% of Yahoo leagues. Until that expected injury occurs, Blalock isn't a bad fantasy option. He does hit in the heart of a somewhat potent lineup in a great hitters park.

Making snap judgments after one start is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine, especially when you're facing the Rangers in their launching pad in Arlington. That said, Cliff Lee didn't do much to inspire hopes of a second straight Cy Young award. He gave up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings of a 9-1 loss.

Lee's day started going downhill with one out in the second inning when Hank Blalock slapped a grounder off his left arm. Lee seemed okay and got the second out before the wheels came off the bus.

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You may have seen our FanHouse preseason MLB predictions for the 2009 season a few days ago. Two of us picked the Texas Rangers to win the AL West. I scoured the internet over the past few days, and, though the search wasn't comprehensive, I couldn't find anyone else who picked the Rangers.

First of all, everyone should realize these picks are for fun. When I see some of the comments under the predictions post, I can't help but scratch my head. When did it become cool to just anonymously tell someone they are stupid without giving your own opinion? That's more cowardly than anything. Regardless, I'll attempt to shed a little light on my personal rationale for the pick.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the...
Best offense in the league. The Rangers are going to score more runs than any other team, and they don't have an over-abundance of star-power. This means their position players are a veritable fantasy goldmine. On the flip-side, though, their pitching staff is atrocious, especially the starters. Needless to say, if you are picking a Texas Ranger on draft day, he'd probably better be on the offensive side of the board.

That's right, MLB Power Rankings. You do know that that means, right? It means we're only a few short weeks/months (depends on you how you want to look at it, you pessimistic jerk) from starting the 2009 baseball season. Spring is nearly here, everyone has a bounce in their step and there's not an illegal, injectable steroid in sight!

So without further ado, let's get down to business and rank every single Major League Baseball team right freaking now. Because baseball can't wait any longer to get going.

Next Big Thing is MLB FanHouse's look at emerging teams, trends and stars in 2009.

Trying to find the next Tampa Bay Rays a year after their meteoric rise to the top of the American League is a bit of an insult to what the Rays accomplished in 2008. Going from worst to first in one season just doesn't happen very often in baseball.

The 2008 Rays were the next 1991 Braves, if anything, so trying to find the heir to the Rays one year later when it might actually take a full generation for that team to emerge could be a fool's errand.