Tiers are a simple but effective way of plotting out a draft strategy that assures you won't fall behind at any position while maximizing your return on every pick. They serve as an alternate form of rankings that groups players by expected level of production, denoting the points in the rankings where the most significant drop-offs occur. In the heat of a draft, you'll know which position to target by observing which one is closest to having its current tier depleted.
Below are the relief pitcher tiers for 2020, specifically emphasizing those in line for saves. They reflect how changing attitudes toward the closer role have reduced the number of safe bets for saves. We also broke down the position on the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast last week, breaking down each tier and giving our sleepers, breakouts, and busts for the position, along with some talk about how the shortened season may need to lead to a change in how you value relievers:
The Elite: Josh Hader, Kirby Yates
The Near-Elite: Roberto Osuna, Aroldis Chapman
The Next-Best Things: Brad Hand, Kenley Jansen, Liam Hendriks, Taylor Rogers, Ken Giles, Nick Anderson, Edwin Diaz, Craig Kimbrel
The Fallback Options: Brandon Workman, Giovanny Gallegos, Raisel Iglesias, Hansel Robles
The Last Resorts: Hector Neris, Alex Colome, Sean Doolittle, Archie Bradley, Keone Kela, Jose Leclerc, Mark Melancon
The Deep-Leaguers: Ian Kennedy, Joe Jimenez, Brandon Kintzler, Wade Davis, Mychal Givens, Tony Watson, Matt Magill
The Next in Line: Will Smith, Seth Lugo, Scott Oberg, Corey Knebel, Hunter Harvey, Jordan Hicks
