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 second base tiers for 2024, revealing a position that offers a wide variety of player types, particularly in the middle rounds. You'll notice one of the early tiers is completely vacant, though.
The First-Rounders: Mookie Betts
The Also-Elite: Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies, Marcus Semien
The Near-Elite -- none
The Next-Best Things: Nico Hoerner, Matt McLain, Ha-Seong Kim, Ketel Marte, Gleyber Torres, Bryson Stott, Zack Gelof, Andres Gimenez^
The Fallback Options: Luis Arraez, Nolan Gorman, Brandon Lowe, Thairo Estrada, Tommy Edman, Jorge Polanco
The Last Resorts: Ryan McMahon, Edouard Julien, Brandon Drury, Davis Schneider, Jonathan India, Gavin Lux, Jeff McNeil, Brendan Donovan, Whit Merrifield, Jordan Westburg
The Leftovers: Luis Rengifo, Joseph Ortiz, Jose Caballero, Brendan Rodgers, Jake Cronenworth, Michael Massey, Geraldo Perdomo, Justin Foscue, Amed Rosario, Luis Garcia
^ one tier lower in points leagues
