Tiers are an alternate form of rankings that concerns itself less with parsing individual players and more with denoting the biggest drop-offs. Players whose value is essentially the same are bundled together to help you prioritize which position to draft next. If the goal in a draft is to maximize the return of each pick, then a simple way to do so is to target a position that's nearing a drop-off and wait on a position that isn't. By crossing off names as you go, your path to victory should become clear.

Below are the first base tiers for 2024, which show a position that shines brightest toward the back end of drafts. There's no need to pass up a stud if one comes your way, but there are ample choices for a corner infield spot in leagues that make use of them.

The First-Rounders: Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Bryce Harper
The Also-Elite: Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero
The Near-Elite: Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt
The Next-Best Things: Christian Walker, Triston Casas, Spencer Steer, Spencer Torkelson, Yandy Diaz, Vinnie Pasquantino, Josh Naylor, Christian Encarnacion-Strand^
The Fallback Options: Rhys Hoskins, Jeimer Candelario, Alec Bohm, Ryan Mountcastle, Salvador Perez, Nate Lowe, Isaac Paredes
The Last Resorts: Justin Turner, Andrew Vaughn, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu, Brandon Drury, Josh Bell, Ty France
The Leftovers: Jonathan Aranda, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Manzardo, Luke Raley, DJ LeMahieu, Ryan O'Hearn, Nolan Schanuel, Wilmer Flores, Lamonte Wade, Jake Cronenworth, Joey Gallo, Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez, Ryan Noda

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^one tier lower in points leagues