This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.
MATCHES (EDT)
- Wednesday, 7:30 pm: FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew
- Wednesday, 7:30 pm: Montreal Impact vs. New England Revolution
- Wednesday, 7:30 pm: Orlando City SC vs. New York City FC
- Wednesday, 7:30 pm: Toronto FC vs. New York Red Bulls
- Wednesday, 8:00 pm: D.C. United vs. Philadelphia Union
- Wednesday, 8:00 pm: Houston Dynamo vs. Nashville SC
- Wednesday, 8:00 pm: Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United
- Wednesday, 8:00 pm: Minnesota United vs. Chicago Fire
- Wednesday, 8:30 pm: FC Dallas vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Wednesday, 9:30 pm: Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers
- Wednesday, 10:00 pm: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids
- Wednesday, 10:00 pm: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Los Angeles Football Club
- Wednesday, 10:30 pm: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Saturday, 3:30 pm: Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Saturday, 7:00 pm: Montreal Impact vs. Inter Miami CF
- Sunday, 6:00 pm: Columbus Crew vs. New York City FC
- Sunday, 7:00 pm: New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando City SC
- Sunday, 7:30 pm: FC Cincinnati vs. D.C. United
- Sunday, 7:30 pm: Toronto FC vs. Atlanta United
- Sunday, 8:00 pm: Minnesota United vs. Houston Dynamo
- Sunday, 9:00 pm: Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake
- Sunday, 10:00 pm: Portland Timbers vs. Los Angeles Football Club
- Sunday, 10:30 pm: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Sunday, 10:30 pm: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Seattle Sounders FC
PLAYER RANKINGS
Forwards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Cristian Pavon | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 10.5 | His form is poor but the fixtures and talent are too tempting. |
2 | Gyasi Zardes | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 10.9 | Cincy are missing several key members of the defense. Bonus shout out to Columbus win at -106 if you're legally able to wager! |
3 | Gonzalo Higuain | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 8.5 | I think many will have these top three in some order of preference and then a drop off. |
4 | Ayo Akinola | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 6.4 | |
5 | Chicharito | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 6.3 | If you like a good narrative, Chicharito welcomed his second child last week. If you like a good fantasy score, maybe look elsewhere. Seriously though - the pedigree, the matchups, and now the baby boost all give him some appeal. |
6 | Robert Beric | CHI at MIN, v. SKC | 10.9 | |
7 | Kei Kamara | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 6.2 | |
8 | Jeremy Ebobisse | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 7.8 | Last round, all of the Portland forwards ended with the same score. They're pretty interchangeable but Ebobisse's aerial dominance puts him in the pole position, assuming he starts the first match. |
9 | Danny Musovski | LAFC at VAN, at POR | 4.1 | If you need the salary, don't be shy at relying on Musovski right away. |
10 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | LAFC at VAN, at POR | 10.6 | |
11 | Valentin Castellanos | NYC at ORL, at CLB | 4.0 | The matchups are tough but Taty has a good chance at producing in one of the two. |
12 | Lucas Cavallini | VAN v. LAFC, at LAG | 5.9 | Neither opponent can keep the ball out of the net, and Vancouver's attack has shown a few signs of life lately. |
13 | Felipe Mora | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 8.7 | |
14 | Kacper Przybylko | PHI at DCU | 11.6 | There's a good argument to be made for Kacper and JoMo all the way up at numbers six or seven, but blanking at the forward position is too common for even the top tier guys. It's a risk you should only take after carefully considering the double game players. |
15 | Jordan Morris | SEA at SJ | 12.9 | |
16 | Fredy Montero | VAN v. LAFC, at LAG | 5.8 | |
17 | Daryl Dike | ORL v. NYC, at RBNY | 6.0 | |
18 | Romell Quioto | MTL v. NE, v. INT | 9.9 | |
19 | Franco Jara | DAL v. SKC | 7.3 | |
20 | Andres Rios | SJ at LAG, v. SEA | 5.6 |
Midfielders | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 15.9 | Locked and loaded. |
2 | Emanuel Reynoso | MIN | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 10.4 | 7/7 starts with 6+ points. |
3 | Pedro Santos | CLB | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 12.2 | |
4 | Nicolas Lodeiro | SEA | SEA at SJ | 16.7 | The Colorado match has been postponed, but look at Nico's game by game scores and tell me you are scared that he only plays on match. |
5 | Diego Valeri | POR | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 10.7 | Two golden opportunities, but as always, concerns are there about when he'll be rested. |
6 | Lewis Morgan | INT | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 13.5 | I know I know...I'm probably too low on him again. Morgan rounds out a clear top-6 in my mind. |
7 | Sebastian Lletget | LAG | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 9.4 | The Galaxy need points to get back into the playoff picture and these are two vulnerable opponents. |
8 | Nani | ORL | ORL v. NYC, at RBNY | 9.2 | |
9 | Johnny Russell | SKC | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 12.4 | Pure speculation, but rotation/rest is a concern of mine with Russell this week. |
10 | Kevin Molino | MIN | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 11.8 | |
11 | Pablo Piatti | TOR | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 10.0 | |
12 | Carlos Darwin Quintero | HOU | HOU v. NSH, at MIN | 11.2 | |
13 | Alvaro Medran | CHI | CHI at MIN, v. SKC | 13.0 | |
14 | Jonathan Osorio | TOR | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 10.4 | |
15 | Ismael Tajouri-Shradi | NYC | NYC at ORL, at CLB | 7.1 | Still waiting on this fantasy gem waiting to happen. |
16 | Gianluca Busio | SKC | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 8.6 | |
17 | Eduard Atuesta | LAFC | LAFC at VAN, at POR | 7.0 | |
18 | Gadi Kinda | SKC | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 7.4 | |
19 | Chris Mueller | ORL | ORL v. NYC, at RBNY | 7.1 | |
20 | Cristian Espinoza | SJ | SJ at LAG, v. SEA | 10.1 |
Defenders | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Richie Laryea | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 10.2 | Paying up for defenders sometimes feels unnecessary during these weeks with two chances for a clean sheet, but these top four all bring enough attacking potential that it could be worth it still. |
2 | Harrison Afful | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 8.0 | |
3 | Anton Tinnerholm | NYC at ORL, at CLB | 12.0 | |
4 | Romain Metanire | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 9.0 | |
5 | Chris Mavinga | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 9.0 | |
6 | Jonathan Mensah | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 9.1 | |
7 | Bakaye Dibassy | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 7.8 | The Loons look likely to get yet another clean sheet this week. |
8 | Julian Araujo | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 6.9 | |
9 | Chase Gasper | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 7.1 | |
10 | Leandro Gonzalez Pirez | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 4.0 | LGP used to be one of the most expensive fantasy defenders! Miami continue to gel and I think their defense has another level or two to reach soon. |
11 | Jorge Villafana | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 8.1 | |
12 | Milton Valenzuela | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 7.9 | |
13 | Omar Gonzalez | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 7.2 | |
14 | Auro | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 9.3 | Auro and Lennon are good picks until you consider their price and alternatives. |
15 | Brooks Lennon | ATL at INT, at TOR | 9.2 | |
16 | Larrys Mabiala | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 7.7 | |
17 | Michael Boxall | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 9.4 | |
18 | Kamal Miller | ORL v. NYC, at RBNY | 6.3 | As usual, Orlando are a good defensive team without a standout fantasy choice. Rowe starting while Gallese is out does knock the whole unit down a peg. |
19 | Emiliano Insua | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 6.9 | |
20 | Boris Sekulic | CHI at MIN, v. SKC | 7.8 |
Goalkeepers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Dayne St. Clair | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 10.5 | Paying this much when we can get 3 cracks at a clean sheet with the keeperoo seems superfluous. |
2 | Quentin Westberg | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 7.1 | Pretty wild that the starting keeper on the Supporter's Shield leading team, with the fewest goals allowed, is available at this price. |
3 | David Bingham | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 8.3 | |
4 | John McCarthy | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 5.5 | McCarthy is a solid keeper, don't let the unfamiliar name turn you away. |
5 | Andrew Tarbell | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 4.7 | Eloy Room looks to be out for the first, and easier, match. Tarbell could conceivably start twice again. |
6 | Steve Clark | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 6.8 | |
7 | Andre Blake | PHI at DCU | 7.7 | Philly's lone match against a floundering United is enough to get Blake on the list. The cheaper Stefan Frei is in a similar situation but just a step below, playing in the week's final match, and just outside the top 10. |
8 | Tim Melia | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 6.2 | |
9 | Pablo Sisniega | LAFC at VAN, at POR | 6.4 | |
10 | Brian Rowe | ORL v. NYC, at RBNY | 5.5 |
Value Rankings | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above) | ||||
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Amadou Dia | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 4.1 | |
2 | Ethan Finlay | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 5.7 | Not confident he starts two, but he'd make for a great 5th mid if he did. |
3 | Nicolas Figal | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 5.6 | |
4 | Winston Reid | SKC at DAL, at CHI | 4.0 | |
5 | Francisco Ginella | LAFC at VAN, at POR | 4.5 | LAFC are now missing Mark-Anthony Kaye in addition to a plethora of other players. Ginella should start two and be leaned on. |
6 | Adam Lundqvist | HOU v. NSH, at MIN | 4.3 | |
7 | Yony Gonzalez | LAG v. SJ, v. VAN | 8.0 | |
8 | Dylan Nealis | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 4.0 | |
9 | Matias Pellegrini | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 4.0 | |
10 | Lee Nguyen | NE at MTL | 7.3 | Even though he only plays one match, Nguyen is a very affordable string-puller playing in one of the week's opening matches. Switcheroo options are in play. |
Captain Rankings | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. RBNY, v. ATL | 15.9 | Pavon's talent is tempting, but he's been looking worse for the wear lately and you can get a safer selection for the captain's band with similar upside. Zardes' multi-goal potential against Cincy is tempting too. Ultimately, the captain rankings feel more comfortable with five double game mids this week. |
2 | Emanuel Reynoso | MIN v. CHI, v. HOU | 10.4 | |
3 | Pedro Santos | CLB at FCC, v. NYC | 12.2 | |
4 | Diego Valeri | POR at RSL, v. LAFC | 10.7 | |
5 | Lewis Morgan | INT v. ATL, at MTL | 13.5 |