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 first base tiers for 2020. They depict a position that isn't quite the standout it once was but still isn't suffering from a shortage of big bats.
The Super Elite: Cody Bellinger
The Elite: Freddie Freeman
The Near-Elite: Pete Alonso, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, DJ LeMahieu, Max Muncy, Matt Olson, Carlos Santana†
The Next-Best Things: Paul Goldschmidt, Yasmani Grandal, Rhys Hoskins, Jose Abreu, Trey Mancini
The Fallback Options: Yuli Gurriel, Edwin Encarnacion, Danny Santana^
The Last Resorts: Luke Voit, Joc Pederson, Yandy Diaz, Christian Walker, Joey Votto
The Deep-Leaguers: Travis d'Arnaud, C.J. Cron, Daniel Murphy, Renato Nunez, Eric Hosmer
The Leftovers: Nate Lowe, Mike Ford, Ryan Mountcastle, Jesus Aguilar, Daniel Vogelbach, Evan White, Brandon Belt, Howie Kendrick, Marwin Gonzalez, Michael Chavis, Ji-Man Choi, Justin Smoak, Eric Thames, Jake Lamb, Garrett Cooper, Austin Nola, Dominic Smith, Albert Pujols
^:one tier lower in points leagues
†: one tier lower in categories leagues
