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Bring your A game: DraftStreet is offering $2000 in cash prizes for an exclusive "beat the expert" MLBTR/DraftStreet league using Friday night's MLB games.  The entry fee is $11, but DraftStreet is raising the pressure on me (Tim Dierkes) by offering $10 back to anyone who beats my team, separate from the regular prize pool.

The beat the expert contest is for Friday night's games (the afternoon Cubs-White Sox game is not included), so you have until 6:00pm central time to create your team.  However, there are only 200 slots in this league, so sign up early.  

You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet.  For Friday, Justin Verlander is considered the most valuable player since he starts against the Pirates, but he'll cost you over $20K.  Your roster will cover these positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 utility, 2 SP, 1 RP, 1 P and 2 Reserves (14 starters).  You get points based on how your team performs Friday.  For example, you'll get 0.75 points for each strikeout Verlander racks up and 1.5 points if he gets the win.  The teams with the most points get the prize money.  You can apply all kinds of strategy in building your roster, but since we're in direct competition this time I won't divulge my secrets.  Here's my roster in the beginning stages:

Be sure to sign up as soon as possible, before the 200 slots are all taken.  DraftStreet has raised the stakes by putting my fantasy baseball reputation on the line; are you up to the challenge?

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Most non-tenders don’t come back to haunt their former clubs, but they definitely have the potential to do so. Valuable players such as Alfredo Aceves, Russell Martin and Edwin Encarnacion have been non-tendered in recent years, to name a few.

Every winter teams non-tender players for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the clubs would rather risk losing the players to rival teams than go through the potentially expensive arbitration process. In other cases, teams don't have 40-man roster spots to spare or they view players as injury risks.

Teams non-tendered 29 players last offseason and a handful of them have added value for their current organizations. Here’s a look at some 2011 non-tenders who are contributing so far in 2012 (minimum 10 innings pitched or 25 plate appearances):

• Jose Mijares, Royals (non-tendered by the Twins) – The 27-year-old has a 2.45 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings for the Royals. Mijares could become a midseason trade candidate, as teams are sure to be seeking left-handed relievers this summer.
• Luke Scott, Rays (non-tendered by the Orioles) – You can't fault the Orioles for non-tendering Scott, who struggled through shoulder problems in 2011 and would have earned $6.4MM or more through arbitration. But the Rays are enjoying his power: seven homers and a .238/.296/.514 batting line.
• Joe Saunders, Diamondbacks (non-tendered by the Diamondbacks) – The Diamondbacks non-tendered Saunders, then re-signed him to a one-year deal. He has rewarded them with a 3.43 ERA through 44 2/3 innings.
• Mike Baxter, Mets (non-tendered by the Mets) – The Mets removed Baxter from the 40-man roster at the non-tender deadline before re-signing him to a minor league deal a few days later. He has a .990 OPS as a corner outfielder through his first 31 plate appearances of the season.
• Jeff Keppinger, Rays (non-tendered by the Giants) – The versatile Keppinger has appeared at first, second and third base while posting a .291/.321/.405 batting line with his new team. Manager Joe Maddon finds playing time for Keppinger when the Rays are up against left-handed pitching.

NBA fan?  Our partner site Hoops Rumors has you covered.  Half of the NBA's 30 teams are already looking ahead to the offseason, and the other half will join them as they're eliminated from the playoffs over the next few weeks. This summer's draft and free agent period will be crucial for a number of organizations as they rebuild and retool. Lottery teams will be hoping to land the first overall pick and the chance to draft University of Kentucky star Anthony Davis, while clubs with cap space will pursue top free agents like Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Chris Kaman. Follow all the latest NBA news, rumors, and transactions at Hoops Rumors!

In an effort to improve diversity and draw more of the country's best amateur athletes to baseball, MLB is in serious discussions with the NCAA to provide additional scholarship funds according to Bryan Fischer of CBSSports.com. Colleges are currently limited to 11.7 scholarships for baseball and many schools are unable to fund even that many.

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt reports that a contingent of NCAA officials met with MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Michael Weiner in New York three weeks ago, and "talks are really picking up steam." Colleges had 13 scholarships at their disposal until a 10% reduction in 1991, and American Baseball Coaches Association executive Dave Keilitz told Fitt that it would be a "huge victory" to get back to 13 scholarships soon. "Personally, I'm hopeful it's more ambitious than that," he added.

Colleges are currently allotted 85 scholarships for football and 13 for basketball, drawing some players away from baseball. It's been speculated that the draft spending restrictions implemented by the collective bargaining agreement could push prospects to other sports as well. In addition to scholarship funding, the two sides have discussed moving the College World Series to better accommodate the draft as well as the widespread implementation of wood bats according to Fischer.

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The Giants designated outfielder Tyler Graham for assignment, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The club placed left-hander Jeremy Affeldt on the disabled list and purchased the contract of left-hander Travis Blackley in corresponding moves.

Graham, 28, has yet to appear in the Major Leagues, but the Giants needed his 40-man roster spot to make room for Blackley. In seven minor league seasons, Graham has a .281/.341/.361 batting line with 222 stolen bases. He has spent most of the past four seasons at Triple-A Fresno. 

Version 2.1 of the Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app is now available!  We have fixed a bug relating to reading and leaving comments through the app.  This popular app allows you to set up custom push notifications to get the latest on the players and teams you want, and is a great way to keep up with MLBTR on your iPhone.  The app has a one-time cost of $2.99, and we're continually adding features, of course at no additional cost to our users.  Buy the Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app today!

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Starting this week MLB teams can call all prospects up without putting them on the fast track to free agency. If a prospect’s big league service clock starts after today, he’ll be under team control through at least 2018.

Today represents the 20th day of the minor league season by my count. This means prospects on 40-man rosters such as Trevor Bauer, Bryce Harper and Danny Hultzen will have spent the requisite 20 days on optional assignments following today. Even if their teams call them up tomorrow for the remainder of the MLB season, they will accrue a maximum of 162 days of service — short of the 172 days required for a full year.

For the past few days it's been safe for teams to call up prospects not currently on the 40-man roster. Players such as Brett Jackson and Shelby Miller didn’t have to spend 20 days on an optional assignment, they just had to spend enough time in the minor leagues to ensure that they’ll fall short of 172 days in the Majors in 2012. 

As always, it’s important to note that service time is just one element of a team's decision-making process and that a substantial proportion of top prospects get optioned to the minor leagues early in their careers. The player's readiness and the team's needs generally trump service time considerations. But service time matters a great deal for elite young players.

Teams wishing to prevent their prospects from obtaining super two status following the 2014 season can keep prospects in the minor leagues until late June. This should ensure that the players are only arbitration eligible three times.

Here's a complete look at the timeline for calling up top prospects.