To tier a position means to bundle players with a similar projected outcome, creating an alternate form of rankings that will better serve you on Draft Day. Tiers make it immediately apparent during the heat of the draft where the drop-off is coming next so that you'll know which position to target with each and every pick.
Tiers 4.0: Catcher | First base | Second base | Third base | Shortstop | Outfield | Relief pitcher
Below are the starting pitcher tiers for 2021, depicting an incomparably large position that's mostly devoid of a middle class.
The Super Elite: Shane Bieber, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole
The Elite: Trevor Bauer, Yu Darvish, Aaron Nola, Lucas Giolito, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Luis Castillo, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda, Brandon Woodruff
The Near-Elite: Lance Lynn, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Stephen Strasburg, Zach Plesac, Corbin Burnes, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kyle Hendricks
The Next-Best Things: Max Fried, Zack Wheeler, Dylan Bundy, Charlie Morton, Jose Berrios, Chris Paddack, Ian Anderson, Jesus Luzardo
The Fallback Options: Sandy Alcantara, Lance McCullers, Dinelson Lamet, Zac Gallen, Sonny Gray, Sixto Sanchez, Kevin Gausman, Joe Musgrove, Corey Kluber, Frankie Montas, Julio Urias, Mike Soroka, Tyler Mahle, Pablo Lopez, Shohei Ohtani, James Paxton
The Last Resorts: Carlos Carrasco, Patrick Corbin, German Marquez, Jameson Taillon, Framber Valdez, Aaron Civale, John Means, Marco Gonzales, David Price, Michael Pineda, Jose Urquidy, Dallas Keuchel, Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodriguez, Domingo German
The Deep-Leaguers: Griffin Canning, Freddy Peralta*, Triston McKenzie, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Tarik Skubal, Sean Manaea, Brady Singer, Tejay Antone*, Jordan Montgomery, Cristian Javier, Zach Eflin, Andrew Heaney, Drew Smyly, Elieser Hernandez, Spencer Howard, Nathan Eovaldi, Luis Severino, Noah Syndergaard, Michael Kopech, Nate Pearson, Chris Bassitt, MacKenzie Gore, Zach Davies, Chris Sale, Ryan Yarbrough, Brad Keller, Justus Sheffield, Yusei Kikuchi, Robbie Ray
The Leftovers: Mike Minor, Carlos Rodon, Trevor Rogers, Logan Webb, Daulton Jefferies, Dane Dunning, Mitch Keller, Adbert Alzolay, Logan Gilbert, Matthew Boyd, Adam Wainwright, Madison Bumgarner, Anthony DeSclafani, Kyle Gibson, Rich Hill, Carlos Martinez, Kwang Hyun Kim, Chris Archer, Taijuan Walker, Jake Odorizzi, Michael Lorenzen*, Jose Quintana*, Garrett Richards, Ross Stripling, Deivi Garcia, Matt Manning, Matt Moore, Luke Weaver, Caleb Smith, Merrill Kelly, Dylan Cease, J.A. Happ, Nick Pivetta*, A.J. Puk*, Chris Flexen, Matt Shoemaker, Danny Duffy, Tanner Houck, Dean Kremer, Kyle Wright, Spencer Turnbull, Kohei Arihara, Bryse Wilson*
* RP-eligible
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