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Tiers, for the uninitiated, are an alternate form of rankings that groups players by expected level of production. While it's true every player is expected to produce less than the player ranked ahead of him, there are points in the rankings where the drop-off in expected production is more significant. And at those points, a new tier begins.
The goal is to give you a clear depiction of the distribution of talent at each position so that, in the heat of a draft, you can determine at a glance which position is the ideal one to target. Naturally, the one closest to dropping into the next tier is the one you'll regret having passed up a round later.
Below are the catcher tiers for 2019. They depict a weak position that dwindles down to nothing fewer than a dozen names in.
The Elite: J.T. Realmuto
The Near-Elite: Gary Sanchez
The Next-Best Things: Willson Contreras, Yasmani Grandal, Wilson Ramos, Yadier Molina, Buster Posey, Salvador Perez
The Fallback Options: Francisco Mejia, Danny Jansen
The Last Resorts: Francisco Cervelli, Robinson Chirinos^, Yan Gomes^, Welington Castillo^, Mike Zunino^
The Deep-Leaguers: (Evan Gattis), Brian McCann, Austin Barnes, Tucker Barnhart, Jonathan Lucroy, Carson Kelly, Omar Narvaez, Kurt Suzuki
The Leftovers: Mitch Garver, Austin Hedges, Tyler Flowers, Russell Martin, Kevin Plawecki, Jorge Alfaro, John Hicks, Jason Castro, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Elias Diaz, Chris Iannetta
^:one tier lower in points leagues
( ): DH-only to begin season
So which Fantasy Baseball sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And which undervalued pitchers can help you win a championship? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy Baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Scooter Gennett's huge breakout last season, and find out.
