Tiers are a simple but effective way of plotting out a draft strategy that assures you won't fall behind at any position while maximizing your return on every pick. They serve an alternate form of rankings that groups players by expected level of production, denoting the points in the rankings where the most significant drop-offs occur. In the heat of a draft, you'll know which position to target by observing which one is closest to having its current tier depleted.
Below are the outfield tiers for 2020. They depict a balanced position that includes not only the first five picks of the average draft but also plenty of interesting late-round targets.
The Super Elite: Ronald Acuna^, Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts
The Elite: Juan Soto, J.D. Martinez, (Yordan Alvarez), Charlie Blackmon, Ketel Marte, George Springer, Starling Marte^, Bryce Harper
The Near-Elite: Whit Merrifield, Kris Bryant, Austin Meadows, Joey Gallo, Jorge Soler, (Nelson Cruz), Michael Brantley†, Giancarlo Stanton, Victor Robles^, Jeff McNeil
The Next-Best Things: Tommy Pham, Nicholas Castellanos, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, Marcell Ozuna, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Michael Conforto†, Aaron Judge, (Shohei Ohtani), Ramon Laureano^, Andrew Benintendi^
The Fallback Options: David Dahl, Kyle Tucker, Danny Santana^, Kyle Schwarber, J.D. Davis, Mark Canha, Garrett Hampson^, Oscar Mercado^, Mallex Smith^, Scott Kingery^ Franmil Reyes^, Lourdes Gurriel^, Nick Senzel^, Willie Calhoun, Trey Mancini
The Last Resorts: Bryan Reynolds, Yasiel Puig, Hunter Dozier, Avisail Garcia, Adam Eaton, Lorenzo Cain, Byron Buxton, (Khris Davis), (Miguel Andujar), Justin Upton, Jo Adell, Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo, Shin-Soo Choo, Luis Arraez, Andrew McCutchen†, Jon Berti^, Wil Myers^
The Deep-Leaguers: Sam Hilliard, Mike Yastrzemski, Kole Calhoun, Hunter Renfroe, Aristides Aquino, A.J. Pollock, Brian Anderson, Trent Grisham, Corey Dickerson, David Peralta, Stephen Piscotty, Gregory Polanco, Jesse Winker, Austin Hays, Mike Tauchman, Yoenis Cespedes, Domingo Santana, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Kyle Lewis, David Fletcher
The Leftovers: Dylan Carlson, Shogo Akiyama, Nomar Mazara, Brett Gardner, Harrison Bader, Ender Inciarte, Jarrod Dyson, Ian Happ, Austin Riley, Tyler O'Neill, Randal Grichuk, Anthony Santander, Jason Heyward, Kevin Pillar, Mitch Haniger, Ryan Braun, Brandon Nimmo, Franchy Cordero, Cameron Maybin, Ian Desmond, Marwin Gonzalez, Niko Goodrum, Kevin Kiermaier, Delino DeShields, Jose Martinez, Garrett Cooper, Jackie Bradley, Dexter Fowler, Teoscar Hernandez, Roman Quinn, Nick Markakis, Adam Haseley
^:one tier lower in points leagues
†: one tier lower in categories leagues
( ): DH-only
