Tiered Up: Outfielders

Ready to go the extra mile? Tiered Up looks at a more thorough way to set up your draft board than simple rankings.

The beautiful thing about the outfielder position is that you never have to reach for talent. There should be good outfielders available to you in every round of the draft. Now, that doesn't mean that you can completely ignore the position, but if you're deciding between an outfielder and another position player, and they are similarly valued on your sheet, it's probably a good idea to take the other guy.

While you should be looking to fill those scarce infield positions at the beginning of the draft, you can turn to filling your outfield and starting pitching staff (by the way, check back tomorrow for the pitching tiers) once the infield talent comes off the board (usually after five rounds or so).

Even if you don't have all your starting OF slots filled by the middle of the draft, there's absolutely no need to panic. Even after 40 guys come off the board at the position, there are still talented players that can be fantasy contributors available.

Let's take a look at the outfield tiers. Each player is listed with his Median Draft Position (explained here).

Tier 1

Ryan Braun, Brewers (5)
Matt Kemp, Dodgers (6)
Carl Crawford, Rays (17)
Matt Holliday, Cardinals (18)

If you find yourself stuck with the No. 5 or No. 6 pick, the top two OFs are your best options. Then, if you miss out on the elite 1Bs and SSs in the second round, Crawford and Holliday and solid, safe second-round selections.

Tier 2

Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox (20)
Justin Upton, Diamondbacks (22)
Grady Sizemore, Indians (25)
Jayson Werth, Phillies (41)
Jason Bay, Mets (40)

Ellsbury broke out in 2009, stealing 70 bases while hitting above .300 and even contributing a handful of HRs. Upton is still incredibly young and has a terrifying ceiling. Sizemore will look to bounce back, while Bay is a safe pick, even in New York. Unless you hit the jackpot at the infield positions, you should have your top OF after Tier 2 is gone.

Tier 3

Adam Lind, Blue Jays (46)
Curtis Granderson, Yankees (50)
Andre Ethier, Dodgers (62)
Carlos Lee, Astros (64)
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (39)

Lind and Ethier established themselves as elite OFs last year, while any offensive player should love moving to the New Yankee Launching Pad, as Granderson will do this season. Lee and Ichiro are nice and consistent, though they are definitely on the down-slope.

Tier 4

Shane Victorino, Phillies (79)
Bobby Abreu, Angels (75)
Nelson Cruz, Rangers (65)
Manny Ramirez, Dodgers (63)
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (91)
Adam Dunn, Nationals (59)
B.J. Upton, Rays (56)
Nick Markakis, Orioles (53)
Shin-Soo Choo, Indians (69)

Looking at this group of players, I'm generally not drafting Upton or Markakis at their prices, and I'm OK with that. Conversely, I wind up with McCutchen, Victorino and/or Abreu much of the time. By this point, you should try and have two OFs.

Tier 5

Carlos Beltran, Mets (103)
Ben Zobrist, Rays (51)
Josh Hamilton, Rangers (60)
Jay Bruce, Reds (113)
Carlos Quentin, White Sox (98)
Torii Hunter, Twins (94)
Nate McLouth, Braves (102)
Hunter Pence, Astros (93)

Zobrist has the highest MDP, but people are drafting him to play in the middle infield. Hamilton is drawing a lot of confidence for a bounce-back season, yet drafters seem hesitant to take Beltran. They'll both likely miss at least a month of the season, but Beltran will get that month out of the way at the beginning of the year. After Tier 5, you need to have at least two OFs.

Tier 6

Raul Ibanez, Phillies (99)
Alfonso Soriano, Cubs (108)
Alex Rios, White Sox (136)
Michael Cuddyer, Twins (122)
Adam Jones, Orioles (84)
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (115)
Denard Span, Twins (119)
Jason Kubel, Twins (117)
Brad Hawpe, Rockies (144)
Michael Bourn, Astros (104)

Like Hamilton above, Soriano is going for a discounted price after a bad season. The difference with Soriano is that you're getting a steeper discount. Jones is being drafted far too high for my taste, and his inclusion in Tier 6 guarantees he won't be landing on my teams. You'll want to have your three OF slots filled by this point.

Tier 7

Nolan Reimold, Orioles (197)
Corey Hart, Brewers (191)
Johnny Damon, Tigers (148)
Juan Pierre, White Sox (178)
Julio Borbon, Rangers (181)
Garrett Jones, Pirates (175)
Nyjer Morgan, Nationals (140)
Rajai Davis, A's (172)
Chris Coghlan, Marlins (194)
Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals (173)

There's a lot of speed to be had in this tier. If you focused on grabbing sluggers early in the draft, you'll want to round your team out with at least one of the base-stealers. Reimold and Jones were excellent in their first partial season in the majors. Hart is a nice bounce-back candidate.

Tier 8

Dexter Fowler, Rockies (247)
Nick Swisher, Yankees (240)
J.D. Drew, Red Sox (264)
Drew Stubbs, Reds (282)
Franklin Gutierrez, Mariners (198)
Vernon Wells, Blue Jays (215)
Cameron Maybin, Marlins (286)
Colby Rasmus, Cardinals (201)
Cody Ross, Marlins (245)
Chase Headley, Padres (259)
Josh Willingham, Nationals (260)
Mike Cameron, Red Sox (254)
Travis Snider, Blue Jays (234)
Matt LaPorta, Indians (243)
Kyle Blanks, Padres (281)

Once you get past Tier 7, you'll be looking for upside guys, like Maybin, Stubbs, Fowler and others. You could probably throw another 20 outfielders into this tier, but these are the guys that stand out to me.