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 relief pitcher tiers for 2024, with a particular emphasis on closers and their possible alternatives (where applicable). Even with Devin Williams' injury and the uncertainty it brings to the Milwaukee bullpen, things are looking up here. Most teams will have a clear front-runner for saves going into the season, and generally, those front-runners have come to be by merit rather than happenstance, which is why the top three tiers are so robust.
The Elite: Edwin Diaz, Josh Hader
The Near-Elite: Emmanuel Clase, Camilo Doval, Jordan Romano, Raisel Iglesias, Jhoan Duran, Alexis Diaz, Paul Sewald, Andres Munoz
The Next-Best Things: David Bednar, Pete Fairbanks, Craig Kimbrel, Ryan Helsley, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Clay Holmes
The Fallback Options: Kenley Jansen, Adbert Alzolay, Jose Alvarado, Robert Suarez, Jose Leclerc
The Last Resorts: Mason Miller, Alex Lange, Carlos Estevez, Devin Williams, Joel Payamps, Kyle Finnegan, Will Smith, Michael Kopech, Justin Lawrence
The Next-in-Line: Robert Stephenson, Abner Uribe, Aroldis Chapman, Yuki Matsui, Hunter Harvey, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, Jason Adam, Matt Brash, Yennier Cano, Ryan Pressly, Brusdar Graterol, David Robertson, Tyler Kinley
