The goal of tiering is to signal where the biggest drop-offs are within a position so that you can determine the most optimal time to draft said position. Players whose impact is essentially the same are bundled together, revealing at a glance how many alike choices remain. With every position's tiers in hand, you can know during the heat of the draft which position to target next by observing which one's active tier is closest to depletion.
- Position Strategies: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
- Position Previews: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
- Position Tiers (v. 2.0): C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
Below are the relief pitcher tiers for 2025, with a particular emphasis on closers and their possible alternatives (where applicable). So as not to compare apples and oranges, I've left the relief pitcher-eligible starting pitchers for the starting pitcher tiers.
A number of teams that appeared settled at closer heading into the offseason muddied the waters by adding a pitcher with more closing experience. The Next-in-Line tier is even longer as a result, featuring some of the displaced (and, in certain cases, more talented) closers. They're the prospective save sources to target once all the confirmed closers are gone.
The Elite: Emmanuel Clase, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz
The Near-Elite: Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Mason Miller, Ryan Walker, Felix Bautista
The Next-Best Things: Robert Suarez, Andres Munoz, Jhoan Duran, Jeff Hoffman, Trevor Megill
The Fallback Options: Tanner Scott, David Bednar, Jordan Romano, Pete Fairbanks, Carlos Estevez, Ryan Pressly, Kenley Jansen, Alexis Diaz
The Last Resorts: Kyle Finnegan, Jason Foley, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Martinez, Calvin Faucher, Jon Gray, Tyler Kinley
The Next-in-Line: A.J. Puk, Kirby Yates, Lucas Erceg, Chris Martin, Porter Hodge, Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, Ben Joyce, Jesus Tinoco, Blake Treinen, Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, Seth Halvorsen, Victor Vodnik
