This is where things get complicated.
Obviously, you need more than one outfielder -- everybody does -- and so waiting until the very moment a tier is near exhaustion to grab one may not be the best idea.
Which isn't to say you shouldn't jump in when a tier is near depletion. You're still maximizing the value of the pick that way. But you shouldn't have to settle for a second-rate outfield just because the conditions for taking an outfielder were less than optimal.
And that way of thinking contributes to the formation of these tiers. When dealing with one of the super-sized positions (starting pitcher being the other), you can't make your tiers as rigid or else you'll end up with a dozen or more. The hope is it evens out since those are the positions where you'll be drafting players mid-tier anyway.
The Unmatched: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts
The Elite: Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Charlie Blackmon, Trea Turner
The Near-Elite: George Springer, A.J. Pollock, Ryan Braun, J.D. Martinez, Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Bautista, Carlos Gonzalez, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Ian Desmond
The Next-Best Things: Jackie Bradley, David Dahl, Gregory Polanco, Christian Yelich, Matt Kemp, Khris Davis, Ben Zobrist, Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley, Stephen Piscotty, Justin Upton, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras, Lorenzo Cain, Miguel Sano, Hunter Pence, Jay Bruce, Billy Hamilton, Adam Eaton, Dexter Fowler
The Fallback Options: Kole Calhoun, Andrew Benintendi, Nomar Mazara, Carlos Beltran, Byron Buxton, Carlos Gomez, Hunter Renfroe, Yasiel Puig, Shin-Soo Choo, Melky Cabrera, Adam Duvall, Jose Peraza, Odubel Herrera, Jason Heyward, Ender Inciarte, Yasmany Tomas, Curtis Granderson, Kevin Kiermaier, Hernan Perez, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Holliday, Eric Thames, Max Kepler, Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler
The Last Resorts: Randal Grichuk, Josh Reddick, Alex Gordon, Brett Gardner, Brandon Drury, Manuel Margot, Nick Markakis, Jayson Werth, Keon Broxton, Corey Dickerson, Aaron Judge, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Peralta
The Leftovers: Mitch Haniger, Andrew Toles, Leonys Martin, Brandon Moss, Michael Saunders, Rajai Davis, Jarrod Dyson, Travis Jankowski, Chris Owings, Colby Rasmus, Cameron Maybin, Scott Schebler, Tyler Naquin, Matt Joyce, Michael Conforto, Melvin Upton, Steven Souza, Sean Rodriguez, Howie Kendrick, Angel Pagan, Denard Span, Kevin Pillar
The problem with opting for super-tiers over sub-tiers, though, is that it gives an inaccurate representation of the distribution of talent at the position, and that's definitely the case this year. Outfield is lacking at the top, OK? It doesn't look so bad since The Near-Elite has been blended into a nice hearty tier, but I considered cutting it off after Stanton, which would mean that the top two tiers (I'm combining The Unmatched with The Elite since it's not represented at every position) consist of only 12 players at a position that should theoretically be three times as deep.
Gross.
So why didn't I cut it off there? Well, I didn't so much like the idea of Desmond, with all of his Coors Field hopes, falling into the same tier as Eaton -- or even Piscotty, for that matter. Likewise, I could have gone a tier lower with Pence, Bruce, Hamilton, Eaton and Fowler but then would have to reconcile those five with Kiermaier and Kepler. After careful consideration, I've settled on these divisions as the best of several imperfect options.
But hey, you're free to draw those lines wherever you'd like. Tiers should be tailored to your preferences, not mine, so if it helps, you can think of these as nothing more than a starting point.
The position may be lacking in high-end options, but depth isn't really an issue. By the end of The Fallback Options, which is sort of the minimum baseline for standard mixed-leagues, 65 players will be off the board, which is more than enough to go around even in a five-outfielder league. So there comes a point, probably around the Sano line within the The Next-Best Things, where you should no longer need to extend yourself for an outfielder and can focus on other positions.
And obviously, with this many names, there are no shortage of sleepers at the position. Prospects (or recent graduates) like Benintendi, Mazara, Renfroe, Judge and Margot in particular stand out, but I'd also put a star next to Buxton, Puig, Kiermaier, Thames and Broxton.