Here is a nice story about Danny Hultzen donating $100,000 to the University of Virginia baseball program.

Yes, another ranking of prospects is out today (hidden behind ESPN's pay wall). This one is by Keith Law, who yesterday had his organizational rankings (the Mariners were 11th), Law, who used to work for the Toronto Blue Jays (and recently turned down a job offer with the Houston Astros), is one of the most well-connected evaluators in the biz, so his rankings are ones I look at a little more closely.

Law gave a clue yesterday how the Mariners would end up, with his comment that their top 5 prospects are outstanding, but that there's a fall off after that. Sure enough, the Mariners have five players ranked in Law's first 57, and none thereafter -- and none in the list of 10 prospects who barely missed the list. In other words, no one in the Seattle organization ranked from 58 through 110.

The five Mariners he names are easy to figure out: Jesus Montero at No. 9 (one of three catchers in the top 10, though Law is not kind in evaluating his catching skills), RHP Taijuan Walker at No. 24, LHP Danny Hultzen at No. 30, LHP James Paxton at No. 51, and shortstop Nick Franklin at No. 57.

(Carlos Guillen, photo by Associated Press)

For the Mariners, this is a season predicated on youth. It's the essence of "The Plan" that's going to lead the Mariners out of the darkness (they say). It's the reason that Jack Zduriencik pleads for patience while all this young talent coalesces. It's the central meme for 2012: the Mariners are going young, with all the pitfalls and all the payoff.

Obviously, the shining hope for the future is the young core of players that broke in last year (Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Casper Wells, Mike Carp et al, with new addition Jesus Montero), backed up by the wave of young pitchers knocking on the door (Danny Hultzen, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker).

But a flurry of late signings makes it apparent that the M's aren't quite ready to turn this thing over to the kids, lock, stock and bat barrel. Kevin Millwood was signed on Jan. 24, and if I were a betting man, I'd wager that the old warhorse is going to be in the rotation if he doesn't completely self-destruct in spring training. Manager Eric Wedge said recently that he's never seen a veteran provide more leadership than Millwood did when he pitched for Wedge in Cleveland. It sure sounds to me like he wants Millwood, now 37, to win a job, and I expect him to do just that.

(Taijuan Walker and James Paxton answer questions at the recent FanFest at Safeco Field. Broadcaster Rick Rizzs is far left. Seattle Times photo by Alan Berner).

Keith Law's annual organizational rankings were released today, and the Mariners fared pretty well. They are No. 11, which is actually down a spot from his rankings heading into the 2011 season but still indicative of improvement in a farm system he ranked 21st in 2010. Note that Law's rankings are behind ESPN's pay wall.

Also, FanGraphs today released their Top 15 Mariners' prospects, which is also worth a look. The one surprise (to me, anyway) was shortstop Martin Peguero, ranked No. 9.

(Seattle Times staff photo)

Glad to see that Jamey Wright has landed a job, signing a minor-league contract with the Dodgers. Wright gave the Mariners a solid performance last year -- a 3.16 ERA in 60 games. The Dodgers are the 11th organization for Wright, who turned 37 in December. The list: Rockies, Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, Giants, Rangers, Indians, Cubs, A's, Mariners and Dodgers (including two separate stints with the Royals, Rockies, Mariners and Rangers).

So Chris Gimenez has been designated for assignment, which is the plight for players like Gimenez, who has spent most of his career on the shuttle between Triple-A and the major leagues. I wouldn't at all be surprised if he signs back with the organization, because manager Eric Wedge has a soft spot for him, and his versatility is appealing. But the road back to the majors is considerably more difficult, of course, as a non-roster player, because Gimenez's ascension would then necessitate clearing a spot on the 40-man roster.

Either way, I think one of the more memorable performances of last season for the Mariners was provided by Gimenez, and deserves mention if he is indeed parting ways with the organization. Or even if he's not.

The date was June 28, and the Mariners were playing an interleague game against the Braves at Safeco Field. They began the day with a 39-40 record, just two games out of first place. Hope still ruled the day, though their massive collapse -- a 17-game losing streak beginning on July 6 -- was just around the corner.

On this night, Michael Pineda opposed Tommy Hanson, an enticing matchup of rising young pitchers. In batting practice, Gimenez tweaked his left oblique muscle but wasn't too concerned, since Miguel Olivo was catching that night.

Well, in the fourth inning, Olivo had to leave the game with leg cramps. Out of necessity, Gimenez entered the game (it was either him or emergency catcher Adam Kennedy, who had never actually caught at any level of baseball and whose experience was limited to warming up Brandon League between innings once).

In his first at-bat, Gimenez swung twice and aggravated the oblique injuury even more. "It felt like someone stabbed me,'' he would say after the game.

He insisted on toughing it out, but the Mariners told him not to swing the bat so he could remain in on defense. Wouldn't you know it, with the game hanging in the balance in the seventh inning -- runners on first and second, two outs, Braves leading 5-4 -- who should come to the plate but Gimenez? Wedge stuck with him, but the crowd of 21,769 was perplexed when Gimenez tried to drop down a bunt. And they were annoyed when, after working the count full (without a swing), he struck out looking on a fastball down the middle.

Hong-Chih Kuo was 17 years old when the Dodgers signed him to a $1.2-million bonus in 1999, making him the first Taiwanese player signed out of high school by a major-league team.

It's been a wild ride ever since for the left-hander, who today signed a one-year, major-league contract with the Mariners.

In his very first professional game, pitching for San Bernardino in the California League in April of 2000, Kuo struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced. He was completely overpowering. Only two batters put the ball in play, and those were weak grounders. The Orange County Register quoted Scott Akasaki, an assistant in the Dodgers' Asian operattions department, on the performance: "I remember calling my dad after the game. His favorite player was Sandy Koufax. I said, '"Dad, I know I never saw Sandy Koufax. But I just saw Hong-Chih Kuo'"

(Carlos Guillen at the 2008 All-Star Game, flanked by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Photo by Associated Press).

Dec. 15, 2003 was quite a momentous day in the annals of Mariners' baseball. They signed free agent Scott Spiezio to a three-year, $9 million contract, bringing in the winning attitude and slugging bat of a guy who had helped the Angels win the World Series two years earlier. They dealt Greg Colbrunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Quinton McCracken, an invaluable bench player for manager Bob Melvin. And they worked out a trade that would send Carlos Guillen, who had fallen out of favor, to the Cleveland Indians for old favorite Omar Vizquel, who would revive his career where it began as the Mariners' regular shortstop.

It all looked good on paper, anyway. In reality, Spiezio was an all-time bust, McCracken withered away on the Mariners bench before getting released in June, and Vizquel never made it back to Seattle -- the deal was called off the next day when Vizquel, coming off two knee surgeries, failed his physical in Seattle. He went on to play 148 games for Cleveland in 2004 and hit .291, then moved on to San Francisco, where in 2005 and '06 he won Gold Gloves numbers 10 and 11. He's still playing at age 45, having signed with the Blue Jays.

The Hutch Award was bestowed to Billy Butler of the Royals today at Safeco Field, with Cal Ripken Jr. (shown above signing autographs afterward) providing the keynote address. The weather cooperated -- it was brisk, but clear for the outdoor ceremony -- and as always the day provided poignant moments as the good work of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was highlighted.

The award goes to the player who "best exemplifieds the honor, courage and dedication" of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson, the former major-league pitcher and manager. His death from lung cancer at age 45 prompted his brother, cancer surgeon Bill Hutchinson, to start the research center. The Hutch Award was instituted in 1965 and has been handed out annually ever since. Winners include Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (the inaugural Hutch honoree), Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Al Kaline, Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, Lou Brock, George Brett, Johnny Bench , Andre Dawson and Paul Molitor, among others.

Butler said he perused that list and "frankly, I don't think I belong with them. It's very humbling to understand what award I've won."

Butler and his wife, Katie, started the Hit-It-A-Ton campaign to help feed disadvantaged families in the Kansas City area.

"I feel like it's a part of being a baseball player, as much as being on the field,'' Butler said of his community service. "Every time the Royals have a charity event, I'm at every single one of them.

One interesting twist to the Jesus Montero trade (or as it's known in New York, the Michael Pineda trade) is the premium that's starting to be put on power-hitting prospects within the industry.

It's indicative of the noticeable decline in slugging that's taken place in the past decade -- especially since meaningful drug testing was installed in 2006. Last year, 24 players hit 30 or more homers -- up from 18 in 2010. In both years, there were just two 40-homer men. Compare that to the slug-happy year of 2000, in the heyday of what is now called the steroids era, when a whopping 47 players hit 30 or more homers, and 16 exceeded 40. That was a year after Mark McGwire hit 60 homers (and two years after McGwire hit 70), and a season before Barry Bonds put up his staggering 73-homer season.

Here's a chart that lists the number of 30, 40 and 50 homer players in each season since 1998. The trend is unmistakable.