Tiers are a particular form of rankings that is less concerned with parsing individual players and more with denoting the biggest drop-offs. Players whose value is essentially the same are bundled together to help you prioritize which position to draft next. If the goal in a draft is to maximize the return of each pick, then a simple way to do so is to target a position that's nearing a drop-off and wait on a position that isn't. By crossing off names as you go, your path to victory should become clear.
Below are the first base tiers for 2024, which show a position that starts out strong and gets even stronger. Even if you grab one early, you may want another to fill your corner infield spot.
The First-Rounders: Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Bryce Harper
The Also-Elite: Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero
The Near-Elite: Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt
The Next-Best Things: Triston Casas, Christian Walker, Spencer Steer, Spencer Torkelson, Yandy Diaz, Vinnie Pasquantino, Josh Naylor, Christian Encarnacion-Strand^
The Fallback Options: Rhys Hoskins, Jeimer Candelario, Alec Bohm, Salvador Perez, Isaac Paredes, Nate Lowe, Anthony Rizzo, Ryan Mountcastle^
The Last Resorts: Justin Turner, Andrew Vaughn, Ty France, Jose Abreu, Brandon Drury, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Bell
The Leftovers: Jonathan Aranda, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Manzardo, Luke Raley, Ryan O'Hearn, Nolan Schanuel, Wilmer Flores, Lamonte Wade, Jake Cronenworth, Joey Gallo, Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez, Ryan Noda
^one tier lower in points leagues
