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, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Bell, Max Muncy, Matt Olson, Carlos Santana†
The Next-Best Things: Paul Goldschmidt, Yasmani Grandal, Rhys Hoskins, Jose Abreu
The Fallback Options: Danny Santana^, Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini, Edwin Encarnacion
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, Evan White, Michael Chavis
The Leftovers: Nate Lowe, Mike Ford, Ryan Mountcastle, Miguel Cabrera, Jesus Aguilar, Daniel Vogelbach, Brandon Belt, Howie Kendrick, Marwin Gonzalez, 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
