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: Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, Ronald Acuna, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts
The Elite: Juan Soto, J.D. Martinez, Charlie Blackmon, Ketel Marte, (Yordan Alvarez), Aaron Judge, George Springer, Starling Marte^
The Near-Elite: Whit Merrifield, Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Joey Gallo, Austin Meadows, Jorge Soler, Michael Brantley†, Jeff McNeil
The Next-Best Things: Giancarlo Stanton, Tommy Pham, (Nelson Cruz), Victor Robles^, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, (Shohei Ohtani), Trey Mancini, Marcell Ozuna, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Nicholas Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Ramon Laureano, Andrew Benintendi, David Dahl
The Fallback Options: Kyle Tucker, Danny Santana^, Kyle Schwarber, Willie Calhoun, Garrett Hampson, J.D. Davis, Mark Canha
The Last Resorts: Oscar Mercado, Franmil Reyes, Lourdes Gurriel, Bryan Reynolds, Yasiel Puig, Adam Eaton, Lorenzo Cain, Hunter Dozier, Byron Buxton, Justin Upton, (Khris Davis), Jo Adell, Joc Pederson, Mallex Smith^, Nick Senzel, Mitch Haniger, Shin-Soo Choo, Scott Kingery^
The Deep-Leaguers: Aristides Aquino, A.J. Pollock, Sam Hilliard, Andrew McCutchen, Luis Arraez, Avisail Garcia, Mike Yastrzemski, Kole Calhoun, Hunter Renfroe, Brian Anderson, David Peralta, Stephen Piscotty, Gregory Polanco, Corey Dickerson, Jesse Winker, Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, Austin Hays, Domingo Santana, Yoenis Cespedes, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Mike Tauchman, Wil Myers, Kyle Lewis, Austin Riley, Jon Berti^, David Fletcher
The Leftovers: Dylan Carlson, Shogo Akiyama, Josh Rojas, Nomar Mazara, Brett Gardner, Ryan Braun, Jason Heyward, Anthony Santander, Randal Grichuk, Ian Desmond, Marwin Gonzalez, Kevin Pillar, Brandon Nimmo, Harrison Bader, Ian Happ, Tyler O'Neill, Niko Goodrum, Kevin Kiermaier, Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, Jarrod Dyson, Delino DeShields, Jose Martinez, Garrett Cooper, Jackie Bradley, Dexter Fowler, Steven Souza, Clint Frazier, Manuel Margot, Teoscar Hernandez, Josh Reddick, Jay Bruce, Josh VanMeter, Dominic Smith
^:one tier lower in points leagues
†: one tier lower in categories leagues
( ): DH-only