The point 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.
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 prospective closers remain unsigned as of now, and until they sign, I can't be sure what role they'll actually fill in 2025. So for now, I've put them in The Next-in-Line tier. The one exception is Kirby Yates, who, to my mind, is a higher caliber of reliever than the others.
The Elite: Emmanuel Clase, Devin Williams, Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz
The Near-Elite: Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Felix Bautista, Mason Miller, Ryan Walker
The Next-Best Things: Robert Suarez, Andres Munoz, Kirby Yates, Lucas Erceg, Jhoan Duran, Trevor Megill, Jeff Hoffman
The Fallback Options: Blake Treinen, Porter Hodge, David Bednar, Jordan Romano, Pete Fairbanks, Alexis Diaz
The Last Resorts: Jason Foley, Ben Joyce, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Martinez, Jesus Tinoco
The Next-in-Line: Michael Kopech, Carlos Estevez, Kenley Jansen, A.J. Puk, Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, Craig Kimbrel, Tanner Scott, Liam Hendriks, Kyle Finnegan
