For the record:

Matt Cain -- age 25 -- 1st-round pick out of high school in 2002 (25th overall) -- ERA+ 130

Tim Lincecum -- age 26 -- 1st-round pick out of college in 2006 (10th overall) -- ERA+ 119

Madison Bumgarner -- age 20 -- 1st-round pick out of high school in 2007 (10th overall) -- ERA+ 136

Buster Posey -- age 23 -- 1st-round pick out of college in 2008 (5th overall) -- OPS+ 129

Brian Wilson -- age 28 -- 24th-round pick out of college in 2003 -- ERA+ 226

Johnathan Sanchez -- age 27 -- 27th-round pick out of college in 2004 -- ERA+ 133

For the most part, frankly, the other guys are nothing special; or, at least, not guys that a skilled GM couldn't stitch together with a reasonable budget.

So, they had a streak in which four out of five first-rounders turned up huge (they had no 1st-rd pick in 04 and 05) (guess who their first pick was in 03 -- the only one not a world champion? -- *see below).  Then they had a couple of lower-round guys pan out.  Then they skillfully patched-and-filled with the Juan Uribes and Pat Burrells of the world.

How quickly did this transpire?:

07: 71-91, 5th

08: 72-90, 4th

09: 88-74, 3rd

10: 92-70, World Series champs

What does it mean for the Ms?  Well, in three years, Felix will be 27, Ackley 25, Smoak 26, Pineda 24, Franklin 22, Ichiro 39.  Just food for thought.

*David Aardsma