Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley walks across the field after taking batting practice before a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, March 8, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

The 2010 MLB Draft starts tonight and in order to get things kicked off, SI.com’s Jon Heyman ranked the best and worst picks in the draft’s history.

Here are a few picks from each category.

Worst:

3. Matt Bush, SS, 2004, No. 1 overall, Padres. This pick was terrible in itself, but considering Justin Verlander came next makes it even worse. Bush not only never rose above Class-A, he is most memorable for the damage he and his buddies caused to Padres owner John Moores’ private box shortly after San Diego drafted Bush. This was one of those supposed cost-saving picks because real prospects such as Verlander, Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver were seeking much higher bonuses than the $3 million wasted on Bush. What makes matters worse is that Bush hailed from the San Diego area, so they should have known better.

5. Brien Taylor, LHP, 1991, No. 1 overall, Yankees. Taylor signed a record-setting bonus of $1.55 million and looked like a can’t-miss prospect until hurting his throwing shoulder in a fight defending his brother. Sadly, Taylor never pitched a game in majors, joining Chilcott as the second No. 1 pick never to play in the bigs.

12. Jeff Clement, C, 2005, No. 3 overall, Mariners. The Mariners gave away their No. 3 overall pick after they recognized he wasn’t going to be anything close to a star, trading him to the Pirates last summer. What’s worse is that the two players drafted immediately after Clements were Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals) and Ryan Braun (Brewers). Clement is hitting .197 as a Pirates first baseman this year and is a .223 career hitter.

Best:

1. Piazza, C, 1989, Dodgers, 62nd round. Hard to top a Cooperstown-bound catcher in round 62. Was a legacy pick at family friend Lasorda’s behest but he became a superstar.

6. Ryan Howard, 1B, 2000 Phillies, 5th round. This later bloomer was slow to be promoted to the majors, too, perhaps because of the presence of power-hitting Jim Thome. But as as soon as Howard arrived, he established himself as baseball’s top slugger.

7. Bay, OF, 2000, Expos, 22nd round. The Canadian was underappreciated almost right to the point where he signed that $66-million contract with the Mets. The Expos were full of good picks. This was one of their best.

Ha! Matt Bush. He’s so easy to root against in life.

How about the Expos finding Bay in the 22nd round? They probably had no idea what the hell they had, although as Heyman notes in the feature, they were actually one of the better organizations at drafting young players. (And then subsequently trading them away.)

Good list overall. There are always arguments to be made when rankings like these are released, but Heyman knows his baseball and I think he covers a wide spectrum of players. He also stays away from the most recent drafts, as one never knows if a player will fizzle after finding success early in his career. (Although I don’t think anyone would have bulked if Heyman mentioned Tim Lincecum among the best picks. He already has two Cy Young awards and the Giants showed guts taking him with the 10th overall pick despite his unusual throwing motion and small stature. Of course, I’m also a Giants fan, so take what I say at it’s worth.)

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There’s simply no excuse for a lineup that consists of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino to score only 13 runs in 10 games. Yet somehow, it has.

In their last 14 games, the Phillies have scored three or fewer runs 12 times. Howard went deep on Tuesday night in a 7-3 loss to the Braves, but that was the first home run that Philadelphia has hit in 68 innings.

So what’s the problem?

Hitting coach Milt Thompson’s resume speaks for itself. In his first five seasons with the Phillies, the club led the National League in home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases, and extra-base hits. He suddenly hasn’t forgotten how to coach, yet the Phillies have suddenly forgotten how to hit.

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Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Phillies are close to signing slugger Ryan Howard to a new five-year, $125 million extension. Howard’s current salary is $19 million and he’s set to make $20 million in 2011 before he becomes a free agent in 2012.

Howard has 16 RBI and three home runs in 18 games this year and showed his commitment to staying in shape by dropping weight in the offseason. He used the same trainer that Derek Jeter did before the shortstop went on to produce a career year in 2009 and the extra agility training has done wonders for Howard’s defense. (He’s not quite J.T. Snow at the one-bagger, but his defense has certainly improved.)

As long as he stays committed to working out in the offseason, the Phillies won’t be burned by this deal. That said, it’s a little perplexing that they didn’t wait to sign him to the extension next year, seeing as how they already have him locked up for the next two seasons. Sluggers’ power numbers have a tendency to drop once they reach their mid 30s and thus, the Phillies could have waited to see how Howard (30) performs this season before committing to him long term.

But again, with Howard’s new approach to offseason conditioning, this should be a deal that works out well for both sides. (Especially Howard, who will sign one of the few $100-plus million deals in baseball.)

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Giants 5, Braves 4
Quick, name the team with the best record in baseball. The Yankees? Sorry – they’re currently only .500. The answer would be the Giants, who have begun the year 4-0 after coming from behind to the beat the Braves 5-4 in 13 innings on Friday. Quick, name the hottest hitter in the league right now. If you said Albert Pujols, then punch yourself in the ear because you’re wrong. If you said Edgar Renteria, you’re right, but you probably only said that to be a wiseass – so the jokes on you. Renteria is batting an astonishing .688 to start the year after going 3-for-5 with a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, which helped San Fran erase a 4-2 deficit. I don’t know how Pablo Sandoval slimmed down and stole Renteria’s jersey without anyone seeing, but there’s no way that’s the real Edgar Renteria.

Rangers 6, Mariners 2
Nelson Cruz abused the Mariners on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the Rangers’ 6-2 victory. Seattle is hitting .199 as a team and was 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. It was the club’s fourth straight loss and making matters worse, it was revealed that Cliff Lee might not come off the disabled list until May now.

Royals 4, Red Sox 3
It’s early, but you know things are bad in Boston when they’re losing to Kansas City. Rick Ankiel (yes, that Rick Ankiel) hit a go-ahead two-run single off Daniel Bard in the eighth inning of the Royals’ 4-3 win over the BoSox on Friday night. It was the fourth hit of the night for Ankiel, who also hit a solo home run and drove in three runs. Not a bad night for the newcomer, who helped sent Boston spiraling to a 1-3 start.

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Yankees 3, Red Sox 1
It’s only been three games, but new addition Curtis Granderson is already making a huge impact for the Yankees. After homering in his first at bat of the season on Sunday night, Granderson delivered the go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 10th inning Wednesday as the Bombers beat the Red Sox 3-1. With Granderson’s help, New York was able to take two of three games in Boston. (I wonder what people are going to complain about seeing as how the Yankees didn’t “buy” Granderson – they traded for him.)

Pirates 4, Dodgers 3
Do the Bucs have a star in the making in Garrett Jones or what? The 28-year-old hit his third homer in two games with a three-run shot off of Clayton Kershaw to help the Pirates down the Dodgers 4-3 on Wednesday. Roger Cedeno played the hero in the 10th inning when he singled home Lastings Milledge for the winning run, as Pittsburgh is surprisingly in position to sweep L.A. to start the season.

Giants 10, Astros 4
The Giants might as well petition the league to play the Astros every night, because they own Houston. The G-Men completed a three-game sweep of the Stros on Wednesday night, as Edgar Renteria went 5-for-5 in a 10-4 San Francisco victory. (Stop laughing – I’m seriously…yes…it really was that Edgar Renteria.) With their pitching, if the Giants can continue to swing the bats as well as they have, they’re going to be serious contenders in the NL West.

Blue Jays 7, Rangers 4
Is that Vernon Wells up in Toronto or did the Blue Jays make a move for Albert Pujols and didn’t tell anybody? Wells went 2-for-3 with two dingers and three RBI on Wednesday night as the Jays beat the Rangers 7-4. Wells now has three homers in two games and while it’s a little early for Toronto fans to be doing back flips about his production, he’s certainly off to a great start.

Phillies 8, Nationals 4
Plenty of Philadelphia fans were on board Wednesday in Washington, D.C. to see Ryan Howard go 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in the Phillies’ 8-4 win over the Nationals. Apparently the Nationals’ front office didn’t restrict the number of tickets that the well-organized Philadelphia faithful could buy and Phillie fans traveled down to D.C. in buses in order to invade Washington. It was essentially a home series for the Phillies, so nice work, Washington front office.

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In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

Next up is the NL East.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
Much like the Yankees in the American League, it’s hard to find bad things to say about the Phillies. They’re the three-time defending NL East champions and considering they’re ready to bring back the same core of players that got them to the World Series the past two years, there’s no reason to doubt them. Oh, and they added Roy Halladay. Roy, I’m going to dominate your face for nine innings, Halladay. If Cole Hamels rebounds and J.A. Happ’s 2009 wasn’t a fluke, the Phillies won’t suffer a setback this season. In fact, the pitching doesn’t even have to be that great with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez taking up the first six spots in the order. The problem, however, is that Hamels might not bounce back and Happ’s ’09 season may have been a fluke. There’s also that nagging Brad Lidge closer issue that could haunt this club as well. That said, odds are that the Fighting Phils will be right back at the top of the NL East again this season. They’re too good, too talented and too experienced to fold and they have a great chance to reclaim their title back from the Yankees.

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Cardinals’ slugger Albert Pujols was a little miffed when he discussed the recent trade rumors involving him and Phillies’ star Ryan Howard.

From FOXSports.com:

“There’s people, stupid, that like to write something when it’s not the truth, and that’s all I have to say about that,” he said as the Cardinals visited the New York Mets for an exhibition game.

“If I’m getting traded, they need to come to me. That’s not my job to go to them,” Pujols said. “I’ve been saying all along I want to be here, but whatever, it’s not up to me. I just think somebody tried to be funny, but it’s so stupid when somebody takes something like that serious.”

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied his team had discussed a trade and used “lies” and “ridiculous” and “irresponsible” to describe the report, which ESPN based on unidentified sources.

“I really don’t have anything to say about it,” Howard said at the Phillies’ camp in Clearwater.

“Truthfully, I can go back to all the stuff that happened when I was in Double-A — all the talk about trade rumors. I don’t know anything about anything. I’m not really focused on it. If that were the case — I don’t know if it is or not — it is what it is. You just keep going out there and doing your thing. If you get a call saying you’re traded, then you’re traded. Until that happens, I’m still a Phillie. I’m still here. Let’s ride it out.”

Per the ESPN report, the Cardinals and Phillies would swap the two stars before each of their contracts are up. But it sounds like an absolutely ridiculous notion and I don’t think fans should get too riled up over the possibilities here.

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