MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 13

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Published on May 22, 2019

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 13. While they can be used for DFS purposes, they are done with a focus on the league's season-long game.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below, or hit up JD on Twitter @dfsMLS.

Forwards
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. MTL	14.9
2	Fredy Montero	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	8.0	Vancouver's flight was delayed Tuesday and they were already planning some rotation, so it's anyone's guess as to which Whitecaps will start both games. Assuming Montero starts at New York, I'd feel ok about using a bench spot on him.
3	Jozy Altidore	TOR v. SJ	10.9
4	Brian White	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	6.3	BWP sounds possible for the game at Cincinnatti and Tom Barlow opened his goalscoring account last match. Meanwhile, White has just two shots on goal in 339 minutes (both goals). He'd be #2 if you guaranteed me 150+ minutes, but I will likely end up using my Red Bull spots on three other players.
5	Josef Martinez	ATL at RSL	9.9
6	Carlos Darwin Quintero	MIN v. HOU	10.6	Despite a really disappointing run of form, Quintero at home shouldn't be totally disregarded.
7	Kacper Przybylko	PHI v. POR	6.3	Portland still have plenty of defensive flaws and Kacper's salary helps unlock a lot of other options.
8	Wayne Rooney	DCU at NE	10.7
9	Heber Araujo dos Santos	NYC at CHI	8.9	If Wondo can dunk on the Fire for four goals...
10	Diego Rossi	LAFC v. MTL	9.0	Rossi excels on the counterattack but Montreal and their deep-lying set-up will not allow very many chances for that.
11	Brian Fernandez	POR at PHI	10.0	Fernandez should be ready for a debut start. Philly play good defense but is it enough to stop this Liga MX standout?
12	Mauro Manotas	HOU at MIN	10.7
13	Kei Kamara	COL v. CLB	9.3	Kei has already had an extra bounce in his step since the sacking of Anthony Hudson. Now he gets to play his former club.
14	Latif Blessing	LAFC v. MTL	9.1
15	Raul Ruidiaz	SEA at SKC	9.7
16	Tesho Akindele	ORL v. LA	6.2	Tesho's brace gives him some good momentum coming into another solid matchup. There's a lot of good value at forward this week, though, so I don't envision him fitting into my side.
17	Tom Barlow	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	4.8	I'd consider him if he starts on Wednesday, likely from my bench.
18	Angelo Rodriguez	MIN v. HOU	7.2
19	Gyasi Zardes	CLB at COL	7.6
20	Jesus Ferreira	DAL at VAN	6.4

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Daniel Royer	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	8.4	Royer's offensive production and potential is significantly above Rzatkowski's.
2	Marc Rzatkowski	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	9.2	I think the popular move will be to use 2-3 NYRB spots on defense and keeper. I'm leaning the same way, but with two good attacking matchups, justifying a second midfielder like Rza is pretty easy.
3	Hwang In-beom	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	7.1	Just 22 years old, Hwang is still adjusting to the heavy burden placed on his shoulders in Vancouver. Despite some disappointing outings when the fantasy spotlight has been on him lately, I still think he deserves another chance during the DGW.
4	Kaku	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	7.1	I'm tempted to rank the safe points of Sean Davis higher, but Kaku provides a little more upside at the expense of a likely 2-5 bonus point deficit over the double game week.
5	Sean Davis	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	6.9
6	Nani	ORL v. LA	11.2	Due to playing time concerns and the simple fact that Orlando aren't a good team, using Nani always feels risky. He has paid off more often than not, though, and this Galaxy team may struggle to keep possession. Nani should find a few scoring chances at the least.
7	Maximiliano Moralez	NYC at CHI	10.8	Maxi is in form and New York could have all their attacking pieces at their disposal this weekend. I'm not concerned about the short trip to a lifeless Chicago stadium.
8	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA at SKC	10.9
9	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC v. MTL	10.9
10	Carles Gil	NE v. DCU	9.8
11	Aleksandar Katai	CHI v. NYC	10.0
12	Diego Valeri	POR at PHI	11.1
13	Johnny Russell	SKC v. SEA	9.5	Russell's fantasy stock has fallen and while still a good and perhaps popular play this weekend, I don't see the need to force him into your lineup.
14	Favio Alvarez	LA at ORL	7.8	The Argentine's debut for LA doesn't seem to be getting much buzz, but he looks like a player who can make an impact. Without Zlatan, the Galaxy will look to Alvarez for a spark on the road.
15	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC v. SEA	8.9
16	Albert Rusnak	RSL v. ATL	10.5
17	Jamiro Monteiro	PHI v. POR	8.0	With consistently good performances since earning the starting gig, Monteiro has earned a consistent look in our fantasy midfields.
18	Jonathan dos Santos	LA at ORL	10.2	JdS doesn't look fully healthy after a hamstring injury, but he played well enough last match to merit consideration. I also like Sebastian Lletget in the Galaxy midfield.
19	Pity Martinez	ATL at RSL	8.6	Having recently been left out of the Argentina squad for Copa America, Pity could have a little extra juice to his game this weekend.
20	Russell Teibert	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	5.9	With Vancouver's midfield ailing, it's possible Teibert starts both matches in his typical defensively minded role.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Michael Amir Murillo	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	7.0	Red Bulls fullbacks are the play this week with potentially none of their central defenders playing both matches.
2	Kemar Lawrence	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	5.7
3	Amro Tarek	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	6.8	I don't think he's a lock for two starts, but it's pretty possible. Regardless, just one start would be acceptable given the two good matchups.
4	Ali Adnan	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	7.1	Adnan has had quite the marathon of playing time since joining the Whitecaps. I'm not positive he will get both starts this week.
5	Erik Godoy	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	7.7
6	Derek Cornelius	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	4.4	With Doneil Henry out for at least one game, the rangy Cornelius could be a cheap source of bonus points.
7	Walker Zimmerman	LAFC v. MTL	9.9
8	Eddie Segura	LAFC v. MTL	8.7
9	Romain Metanire	MIN v. HOU	8.6
10	Ruan	ORL v. LA	6.0	Perhaps this week's best single game mix of attacking potential combined with a clean sheet chance.
11	Jordan Harvey	LAFC v. MTL	8.4	While Harvey is ranked due to more certain playing time, keep an eye on whichever cheaper option emerges if Beitashour misses due to injury as I expect.
12	Jake Nerwinski	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	5.8
13	Ike Opara	MIN v. HOU	8.4
14	Jack Elliott	PHI v. POR	8.6
15	Joevin Jones	SEA at SKC	6.0	I'd make sure to save enough that you can switch to another Sunday defender just in case he doesn't start.
16	Reto Ziegler	DAL at VAN	8.0	Vancouver aren't shy about conceding penalties and they'll be returning from a tiresome road trip.
17	Maxime Chanot	NYC at CHI	8.8	Tinnerholm, Matarrita, and Callens all are in play too. NYCFC have been good defensively of late and Chicago are somewhat overrated at this point.
18	Kai Wagner	PHI v. POR	7.8
19	Brad Smith	SEA at SKC	8.3
20	Auston Trusty	PHI v. POR	6.9	More expensive options like Chris Mavinga, or either Atlanta centerback are worthy of top20 spots too, but I'll stick with Philadelphia's clean sheet chances.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Luis Robles	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	6.3	Tim Parker will miss the Wednesday match due to his red card against Atlanta, and it seems that Aaron Long will be out for at least another game. Still, Robles has two quality matchups here and is pretty clearly the top goalkeeping option.
2	Maxime Crepeau	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	7.1	Strangely, I think a lot of people will settle on Crepeau because they feel they need to use up their Vancouver slots. I'd just make sure to stick him on the bench and bank enough salary to move to one of the keepers in the final three matches of the week.
3	Tyler Miller	LAFC v. MTL	7.9
4	Andre Blake	PHI v. POR	6.4	Holding the visiting Sounders scoreless gives me a little more confidence that Philadelphia can do the same against another lesser Cascadian side.
5	Brian Rowe	ORL v. LA	6.6	The Zlatan-less Galaxy couldn't score against Colorado. Rowe gives Tim Howard a run for his money in the competition for worst MLS starting keeper, but Orlando's defensive chances are pretty nice for this home match.
6	Bill Hamid	DCU at NE	8.2	Hamid's heroics in Toronto underscore his claims of superiority to some USMNT goalkeeping regulars.
7	Brad Guzan	ATL at RSL	8.7	Atlanta have only allowed one goal in their last six matches.
8	Sean Johnson	NYC at CHI	8.0
9	Vito Mannone	MIN v. HOU	7.5	With Elis questionable due to a concussion, the Loons stand a chance at earning their 5th shut out of the season.
10	Stefan Frei	SEA at SKC	7.9	I don't rank a visiting keeper in Kansas City lightly, let alone ranking them before Tim Melia. Given Krisztian Nemeth's absence and SKC's recent scoring woes even when he's on the field, the defensively stout Sounders could keep a clean sheet here.

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Lucas Venuto	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	5.1
2	Felipe Martins	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	5.4	He's hurt, but I can't imagine he wants to miss his return to Red Bull Arena. Felipe is a player that runs on passion and emotion which would either give us a steal at 5.4 or a red card and price drop!
3	Robin Jansson	ORL v. LA	5.5	Orlando could be a trap this week, but the Galaxy sans Zlatan and with a recovering Jonathan dos Santos are a pretty juicy opponent.
4	Cristian Penilla	NE v. DCU	7.1
5	PC	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	4.4	His playing time is a roll of the dice, but it could be a worthwhile flier if he starts even one match as an attacking wing or wingback.
6	Chris Wondolowski	SJ at TOR	4.0
7	Andre Horta	LAFC v. MTL	6.7	With Atuesta nursing an injury, either Horta or Nguyen could earn another start. Given the favorable matchup and great prices, I think both are good options.
8	Federico Higuain	CLB at COL	7.3	It's probably just in my head, but Pipa v Kei always feels like it carries a little more weight since penalty-kick-gate.
9	Chris McCann	DCU at NE	4.3
10	Giancarlo Gonzalez	LA at ORL	4.9	Gonzalez is far too good for this price. With the Galaxy missing some attacking punch, they have the defensive tools to bunker down and steal a clean sheet.

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Daniel Royer	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	8.4	Best attacker on best DGW team. His two game average sits right around Vela's single game average but we should recognize the quality matchups for Royer as well as the general safety that comes with a two game sample as opposed to Vela's one.
2	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. MTL	14.9	Montreal are a lock to sit deep and make life hard for the LAFC attack, but there is enough quality there that I doubt they can stop them.
3	Michael Amir Murillo	NYRB v. VAN, at FCC	7.0	Picking a defender feels wrong, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't one clean sheet this week for New York and the chance for two isn't all that bad either.
4	Fredy Montero	VAN at NYRB, v. DAL	8.0	He's not a lock for two starts, but he's a good enough scorer for me to put him in the captain conversation assuming 150+ minutes.
5	Nani	ORL v. LA	11.2	I don't think the other DGW midfielders stand out above Royer, and I don't think another forward has a safe claim to a captain spot, so Nani is the next best thing. He feels risky, but the attacking output has been there in nearly every appearance.