Derrick Rose (Getty)Derrick Rose now admits that his groin injury was worse than he originally thought. This comes after missing 10 straight games and still having yet to push himself beyond some light running on the court. Yes, he remains without a timetable for a return, and Rose could only say Sunday that he does expect to be back before the end of the regular season. Rose looks like a drop in default h2h leagues - he's certainly not going to help anyone this week, and the Bulls have just three games during next week's default finals, and Rose wont play big minutes in the initial stages of his return, whenever that happens to be. C.J. Watson will continue to start in Rose's place. He's averaged an inconsistent 12.6 points, 1.8 threes, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals in his 18 starts on the season.

• Kemba Walker, Byron Mullens, and Reggie Williams are all headed for expanded roles for the Bobcats down the stretch. Walker will start ahead of D.J. Augustin on Tuesday, in part because Augustin's knee

Robbie Cano, roto god (US Presswire)

Here are your Shuffle Up prices for the infield, amigos. In the middle of the year we'll break up the infield by corners and middles, but today it's a mash-up of all four positions. Serve with ranch, feeds 12-14 hungry mixed leaguers.

Normal disclaimers apply. As always, it's a 5x5 scoring system. Players at the same price are considered even. Don't stress over the dollar amounts; all that matters is how the players relate to one another. I might tweak this list as the day goes along, and I'll add full commentary a little later. And if you have any disagreement, we welcome your comments: but for the love of all things holy, give a solid reason. Further the conversation, roto head. Construct an argument. Respect the room. Respect yourself.

Yes, there will be an Arcade Pro-Am Auction coming before the (full) season starts. Details will be up in the next day or two. Keep checking back. This is not a bait-and-switch. I'm still working out specs and details.

Now go crush it in your weekend drafts. Here are your prices for all infield-eligible players.

Nikola Pekovic (Getty)Nikola Pekovic, J.J. Barea, and Michael Beasley are all out for the Timberwolves on Friday and all are out for at least a few more games. Barea said he also expects to miss the team's Sunday/Monday back-to-back and is aiming to return on Wednesday. That would mean two games for h2h owners, at most, next week, so a drop is in order in most cases. As for Pekovic, beat writer Jerry Zgoda speculated that Pek's season is probably done - "wouldn't be completely surprised" - thanks to the bone spurs in his ankle that will very likely require off-season surgery. The T-Wolves are headed for a three-game week and you'll be getting Pekovic at less than 100 percent in any case, so a drop is also in order here in the majority of formats. Anthony Tolliver is the beneficiary here - he's Rick Adelman's primary/only big off the bench and has averaged 12 points on 60-percent shooting, 1.2 threes, 5.8 boards, and 0.8 blocks in 28 minutes over the past six games. Managers in hyper-deep leagues should take a look at Wayne Ellington for the upcoming back-to-back, as well - he scored 0 points on Wednesday (24 minutes, 0-5 FG, 0-2 3PT) but had averaged 14.8 points on 56-percent shooting, 1.8 threes, and 1 steal in 28 minutes over the previous four games.

• Jeremy Lin is out for at least two more games (Fri/Sat) with knee soreness and is no lock to return on Tuesday, according to Mike Woodson. With the Knicks headed for just a three-game week and previous talk of limited minutes to address his overuse, he's a very poor option for Week 23 and beyond. A timeshare with Baron Davis is to be expected the rest of the way, and that's a best-case scenario. Davis has averaged 12 points on 37-percent shooting, 1 three, 6 boards, 6.5 assists, 5.5 turnovers, and 1 steal in 30 minutes during his two starts thus far, but the potential timeshare will also keep Davis' relevance in check beyond the next few games.

Carl Crawford (US Presswire)

This is not the most surprising news, but we need to toss it out there: Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford isn't expected to make his regular season debut until late April, or, more likely, May. Crawford is still recovering from January wrist surgery and hasn't swung a bat since suffering a setback in March. Boston clearly doesn't intend to rush this recovery.

Details right here, via the Boston Herald...

"The only thing I know about that is that you don't want to put the kid, anybody rehabbing, under the pressure of a deadline," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. "It can never be the calendar or the schedule that says when a guy is healthy. It can't be. It's just not fair."

[...]

"Are we going to ask him to have 50 at-bats somewhere? Probably."

This news shouldn't matter much to Yahoo!'s Scott Pianowski, who just gave Crawford an official list price of $14, but unofficially prices him at no-[expletive]-way-not-on-my-roster. (Truth: Scott has spent a significant amount of time this off-season attempting to negotiate a Crawford deal on behalf of the Red Sox, reaching out to fans of other teams. Pretty sure we agreed in principle to a Crawford-for-Alfonso Soriano swap. Just need to get Ben and Jed on board, then phone that thing in to the league office).

The D'Backs are ready to storm the season. Are you? (US Presswire)

For the past two months you've steadfastly prepared for the fantasy baseball season sifting through volumes of stats, reading endless rants on busted bullpens while configuring and re-configuring your draft day cheat sheet. Confident and ready to win the first leg of the marathon, you can't wait to tap the keg this weekend.

The height of the fantasy baseball draft season is finally upon us.

On tonight's mustard-doused show, Brad Evans and Brandon Funston provided the latest news and notes from around the diamond to ensure you're ready to dominate. Spins on Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Michael Pineda and the ever-changing Reds closer situation were discussed. Additionally the Freaks talked spring surprises, including Eric Hosmer's monster March and what it means for his draft value.

Always versatile, the boys will also attack the gridiron, addressed the latest regarding Adrian Peterson's recovery, KC's two-back shuffle and how Brandon Jacobs' impacts Frank Gore's 2012 worth.

Finally in

WIth his slider biting once again, Liriano is looking lethal. (US Presswire)

Every year in the deep recesses of drafts, an overlooked leviathan, or three, emerges from the darkness to carry owners to the Promised Land. Last year, Michael Morse, Ian Kennedy and Michael Pineda fit the definition. This season isn't lacking in similar candidates. Below are eight true Rip Van Winkles that could catapult your fantasy baseball team to great heights in 2012:

Francisco Liriano, Min, SP
Y! ADP (12-team round): 243.8
Y! AAV ($260 budget): $1.7
For owners who paid an exorbitant price a season ago, Fransucko awarded them with a giant, smelly pile of insufferable numbers. His five-plus ERA and blue whale-sized WHIP cost many Liriano loyalists plenty of roto points.  Appropriately, his stock plummeted. However, the southpaw appears to have rediscovered his mojo this spring. Over the past few weeks, Twins management has toyed with his mechanics and emphasized efficiency in order to work its once prized ace later into games. So far, so damn good. Healthy again and brimming with confidence, Liriano's slider looks restored, again mystifying batters  like it did when he whiffed 201 two years ago. Through 22 Grapefruit innings, he's struck out 26 while walking a mere four. If he can carry over that success into the regular season, he's a shoo-in for Comeback Player of the Year, and a mighty fine SP3 diamond-in-the-rough in mixers. Adios Mr. Hyde.
Fearless Forecast: 181.1 IP, 13 W, 3.87 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 198 K

Justin Morneau, with his fantasy stalker (US Presswire-Roto Arcade)

It's a scene that's played out in at least two industry auctions so far, AL LABR and AL Tout Wars: Chris Liss tosses a $7 opening bid for Justin Morneau, and ... nothing. Crickets. Uncomfortable laughter. No bidding.

Nobody in the room has been willing to risk $8 on a guy who hit .345 in  a partial season in 2010, and who won an MVP in 2006. Morneau has three 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons on his resume, but...

"Going once...going twice...sold. Chris Liss, $7."

And that's that. First bid is the final bid.

Glorified G (US Presswire)

You're going to want some outfielders this year, so let's load up the sticker gun and price them up. (I was the worst grocery clerk of all time, at 15. They should have made me a bagger and cut their losses.)

The usual Shuffle Up disclaimers apply. I construct these lists from scratch; I'm not trying to justify last week's draft pick or something I wrote two weeks ago. It's an ever-evolving process. Assume a 5x5 scoring system, because only the blindest of the blind still play 4x4 (runs scored don't count? Oh, you Pagans). Don't obsess over the dollar amount; what matters is how the players relate to one another. Commodities at the same price are considered even. The aim is to get everyone who should be owned in a standard (or slightly deeper) mixed league.

I reserve the right to tweak this list as the night goes along, and I'll be adding comments for all tiers shortly. Your respectful disagreement is most welcome and appreciated; just make sure you're respecting the room as you do it. Further the conversation, gamer. Show us the sharp angle that we're missing. If I really like your analysis, you might find yourself in the FOP auction next week (yes, it's happening; details to come Friday).

Now, let's go grazing in the green grass.