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 catcher tiers for 2024, which depict an unusual amount of depth in the middle of the rankings.The distinction between the first three tiers might be overstated, even, given that it's the one position where no player should be drafted in the first, second or third round, really. Particularly if you play in a one-catcher league, you have every incentive to wait.
The Elite: Adley Rutschman
The Near-Elite: J.T. Realmuto, William Contreras, Will Smith, Yainer Diaz
The Next-Best Things: Sean Murphy, Cal Raleigh, Willson Contreras, Salvador Perez, Mitch Garver, Francisco Alvarez, Bo Naylor, Logan O'Hoppe, Jonah Heim
The Fallback Options: Keibert Ruiz, Gabriel Moreno, Luis Campusano
The Last Resorts: Shea Langeliers, Tyler Stephenson, Alejandro Kirk, Ryan Jeffers, Danny Jansen
The Leftovers: Austin Wells, Tyler Soderstrom, Gary Sanchez, Elias Diaz, Travis d'Arnaud, Freddy Fermin, Jake Rogers, Patrick Bailey
