Draft Prep Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP

Breakouts 1.0 | Busts 1.0

Eliminating the higher-volume positions of outfield and starting pitcher, third base has the most players I consider Near-Elite or better.

So it's the best, right?

Well, it's up there, but two of the top eight you have to remove right off the bat. Jose Ramirez will most likely be drafted to play second base and Alex Bregman shortstop.

So now we're down to six in the top two tiers, and here's the thing: I was tempted to skip the third tier entirely, lumping The Next-Best Things in with the fourth tier for one supersize list of Fallback Options. I opted against it because it would understate the upside of Rafael Devers and Adrian Beltre, but if the drop after Justin Turner is big enough for me to consider it, well, I obviously want a player from the first two tiers.

Failing that, Devers is my guy, and failing that -- I don't know -- Kyle Seager isn't far removed from being one of The Next-Best Things himself.

The Elite: Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado, Jose Ramirez
The Near-Elite: Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rendon, Alex Bregman, Justin Turner
The Next-Best Things: Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw, Rafael Devers, Adrian Beltre
The Fallback Options: Miguel Sano, Eduardo Nunez, Kyle Seager, Joey Gallo, Jake Lamb, Nicholas Castellanos
The Last Resorts: Eugenio Suarez, Evan Longoria, Todd Frazier, Yangervis Solarte, Josh Harrison
The Leftovers: Maikel Franco, J.P. Crawford, Ryon Healy, Jeimer Candelario, Matt Chapman, Jedd Gyorko, Asdrubal Cabrera, Brandon Phillips, Nick Senzel, Eduardo Escobar, Matt Davidson, Jose Reyes