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