MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 14

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Updated on May 29, 2019 9:36AM EST

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 14. 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	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at SKC, v. NE	12.8	Zlatan is the most rested of the big three and has two really good individual matchups with the opposing centerbacks (Besler is questionable).
2	Wayne Rooney	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	11.2	I don't think we can bet on Rooney getting a rest, but frankly, he looks like he could use one. Even tired Rooney should produce plenty over two matches.
3	Josef Martinez	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	9.8	Call it 2018 reflexes or intuition, but I like Josef a lot this week and had him first overall in my initial draft. Considering Atlanta have only scored 7 goals in 6 home matches this season, I opted to play it a bit more conservative.
4	Kacper Przybylko	PHI v. COL, at MIN	6.8	Sergio Santos could nab a start, but Jim Curtin probably won't be able to ignore the sheer production from Przybylko.
5	Carlos Darwin Quintero	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	10.2	Quintero typically gets a boost for the plethora of ways in which he can produce fantasy points, but with none clicking, I surprised even myself and dropped him below Kacper.
6	Carlos Vela	LAFC at POR	15.4	Portland is opening their stadium and should be flying high, but Vela is in a tier of his own this season. I wouldn't suggest using him over these top five, though.
7	~~Hector Villalba~~	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	7.7
8	Kei Kamara	COL at PHI, v. FCC	8.9
9	Maximiliano Urruti	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	6.9	Montreal only have scored twice in four home games, so despite a pair of seemingly good fixtures, I think Urruti is better left for others to chance.
10	Angelo Rodriguez	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	6.8
11	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI at DCU, at ATL	7.7	My guess is that Nikolic took his turn to rest this past weekend and Sapong will likely be the Chicago forward to take a turn on the bencht this DGW.
12	Jonathan Lewis	COL at PHI, v. FCC	4.4
13	Corey Baird	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	5.7
14	Jozy Altidore	TOR at VAN	10.4
15	Sam Johnson	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	7.6	His minutes are far from guaranteed, but Petke knows he has a dangerous player that RSL will eventually have to get going. Some confidence going into the Gold Cup break would be useful.
16	Brian Fernandez	POR v. LAFC	10.5	Star forward in club's "stadium opener"? Yeah I'm taking that over some lesser DGW guys.
17	Fafa Picault	PHI v. COL, at MIN	4.7
18	C.J. Sapong	CHI at DCU, at ATL	7.2	If you think Sapong plays both over Nikolic, you can basically flip-flop them.
19	Diego Rossi	LAFC at POR	9.1
20	Latif Blessing	LAFC at POR	9.6

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Johnny Russell	SKC v. LA, at HOU	10.0	Every coach in the league identifies Russell as the guy they need to key on to stop SKC. Seattle failed this past weekend and I bet one of this week's teams will do the same.
2	Jonathan dos Santos	LA at SKC, v. NE	10.7	There are cheaper sources of safe points in the midfield, and JdS lacks some upside, but with his improving health and one tasty matchup against New England, he fended off a few other midfield contenders.
3	Pity Martinez	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	8.4	With Josef and the defensive options, I think Pity will be a rare sight amongst contending fantasy teams. If you need to catch up Pity > Josef may be the move.
4	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC v. LA, at HOU	9.0
5	Aleksandar Katai	CHI at DCU, at ATL	10.2	If one of these games were at home, I'd probably have him ahead of Gutierrez. Katai's potential for goals and assists and the fact that some will be off of him because of the road matches make him a prime candidate for those playing catchup.
6	Saphir Taider	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	9.1	Piatti is likely out for Wednesday's match, taking some of the shine away from Montreal's matchups, but also leaving Taider with increased attacking responsibilities.
7	Jamiro Monteiro	PHI v. COL, at MIN	8.5	Marco Fabian's return could slightly dampen Monteiro's upper range of offensive production, but he's been so consistently good at generating bonus points that it shouldn't affect our outlook much.
8	Julian Gressel	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	8.5
9	Haris Medunjanin	PHI v. COL, at MIN	10.3	His set piece role separates him from Bedoya, and challenges Monteiro for the top Philly mid spot. However, Marco Fabian should recover some of the set piece action upon return.
10	Albert Rusnak	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	10.7
11	Jack Price	COL at PHI, v. FCC	7.3	With bonus point hauls of five, four, and four in the past trio of matches, Price makes for a prime option for those who want to play it safe, whether via a bench spot or as a fourth/fifth starting midfielder.
12	~~Paul Arriola~~	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	8.0
13	Ilie Sanchez	SKC v. LA, at HOU	8.0
14	Luciano Acosta	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	8.9	Even though the signs of life are fleeting in Acosta's game, a player of this caliber has to bounce back at some point. The two home games helped him stay inside the top 20, but I can't endorse actually playing him this week.
15	Favio Alvarez	LA at SKC, v. NE	7.9
16	Osvaldo Alonso	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	8.6
17	Sebastian Saucedo	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	5.3	Bofo and RSL have been flying. While he'd typically be a definite rotation candidate, Mike Petke may not want to tinker with a winning formula.
18	Sebastian Lletget	LA at SKC, v. NE	7.7
19	Jan Gregus	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	9.3
20	Marco Fabian	PHI v. COL, at MIN	7.6	90-120 minutes seems likely.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Miles Robinson	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	8.0	He rotated last DGW, but I think he's safer and cheaper than LGP this week.
2	Steve Birnbaum	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	8.6	Neither opponent have been slouches lately, but I think we want a piece of the United defense this week.
3	Zakaria Diallo	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	7.6	Montreal's recent record has been far better than how they have played. Fortunately for them, two home games against two beatable opponents are on the docket.
4	Leandro Gonzalez Pirez	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	9.5	LGP is a walking yellow card and one more gets him a game off. Buyer beware.
5	Frederic Brillant	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	8.2
6	Jack Elliott	PHI v. COL, at MIN	8.9	I'm not ready to call Colorado's attack "revitalized" and Minnesota haven't scored multiple goals in six games. Rotation is a slight risk, with Aurelien Collin needing some minutes, but whoever starts both for the Union should find at least one clean sheet.
7	Franco Escobar	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	6.7	Escobar's lack of bonus points isn't ideal, but Atlanta's clean sheet potential combined with a mild chance at an assist keeps him ahead of a few steadier defenders.
8	Leonardo Jara	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	7.7
9	Kai Wagner	PHI v. COL, at MIN	8.3	Olivier Mbaizo is poised to come in for a match this week, but likely in place of Ray Gaddis. Kai has a good shot to play both and produce some attacking moments.
10	Auston Trusty	PHI v. COL, at MIN	7.0	Collin's only start this year came at Trusty's expense.
11	Daniel Lovitz	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	7.0
12	Jukka Raitala	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	6.4
13	Brent Kallman	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	6.3	For what they've been lacking offensively, Minnesota have gutted out some good defensive results. Some of those were lucky, and this week is tougher, but Atlanta don't score much either and the second leg being at home will help.
14	Michael Parkhurst	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	6.2
15	Marquinhos Pedroso	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	5.0
16	Bacary Sagna	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	5.3
17	Giancarlo Gonzalez	LA at SKC, v. NE	5.4	With Polenta, Feltscher, and Araujo all missing for the first of two matches, Gonzalez is a safe bet for minutes but the overall Galaxy outlook has to be tempered.
18	Tommy Smith	COL at PHI, v. FCC	5.9
19	Ike Opara	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	8.0	Ike is off of the injury report, but Adrian Heath may opt for caution with him heading into the break. I'd put a 50% chance on him starting both games.
20	Keegan Rosenberry	COL at PHI, v. FCC	5.4	With a revenge game and Cincinnati on the schedule, Rosenberry offers a cheap bench option.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brad Guzan	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	8.4	Atlanta's defensive prowess is undeniable. They only trail LAFC in many key defensive figures.
2	Bill Hamid	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	8.0	DC United are the third team, after ATL and LAFC, allowing under a goal per game.
3	Evan Bush	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	7.3	Montreal keep finding ways to steal clean sheets, but despite some easier fixtures, I think their luck catches up to them. I trust Hamid a little more.
4	Andre Blake	PHI v. COL, at MIN	6.7	With the keeperoo using only DGW players mostly out the window this week, due to kickoff times, Blake may fly under the radar. I think he has two opponents that set him up for success, though, and like the salary savings he'll bring to budget-challenged teams.
5	Vito Mannone	MIN at ATL, v. PHI	8.0
6	David Bingham	LA at SKC, v. NE	7.0	If you'll be on the couch Wednesday night, you could feasibly try a Guzan/Bingham (or Melia) keeperoo. You won't get to see Guzan's full result before the SKC v LA kickoff, but you'll have a good guess.
7	Nick Rimando	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	5.9
8	Tim Melia	SKC v. LA, at HOU	5.9
9	Tim Howard	COL at PHI, v. FCC	5.5
10	Kenneth Kronholm	CHI at DCU, at ATL	4.5	Ousted hasn't been bad enough that he'll sit all three in eight days before the break. Kronholm is far from a guaranteed two starts.

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Sam Nicholson	COL at PHI, v. FCC	5.0	The winger has been influential for the Rapids in recent matches. FCC poses a juicy matchup and makes him a plausible fantasy play if he can stay in the lineup for both games.
2	Kellyn Acosta	COL at PHI, v. FCC	6.3
3	Damir Kreilach	RSL at MTL, at NYRB	7.0
4	Russell Canouse	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	6.9	Canouse should be the man least at risk of rotation in a crowded midfield.
5	Deklan Wynne	COL at PHI, v. FCC	4.8
6	Lucas Rodriguez	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	7.2	He's not producing much, but it's been better than Luciano Acosta!
7	Yohan Croizet	SKC v. LA, at HOU	4.8	Croizet has played all over the field this year, and his last match at striker was impressive. He got a little banged up, but no word of a serious injury.
8	Omar Browne	MTL v. RSL, v. ORL	6.5	If he were fully healthy and starting each match, he'd be inside my top 20 pretty easily.
9	Diego Rubio	COL at PHI, v. FCC	5.1
10	Chris Wondolowski	SJ at DCU	4.5	He can't stop scoring. Until he does, for like months at a time. Get him while he's hot!

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at SKC, v. NE	12.8	Zlatan doesn't have much of a safety net with bonus points, but he rarely goes two matches without producing. I think he's the best mix of a safe captain with explosive potential.
2	Wayne Rooney	DCU v. CHI, v. SJ	11.2	San Jose are a threatening side, even travelling to the East Coast and Chicago have been surprisingly stingy. I like but don't love Rooney this week.
3	Johnny Russell	SKC v. LA, at HOU	10.0	With less attacking potential (yes I know he just got a hat trick) than the above two, and not as many bonus points as I'd like from a standout midfielder, Russell sits in a tough in-between spot for captaincy consideration.
4	Jonathan dos Santos	LA at SKC, v. NE	10.7	JdS was a prolific fantasy accumulator before his injury, has been decent since his return, and should be a safe choice this week. With just two game weeks left in the Spring Fantasy Season, it will be tough to select the "safe" option, though.
5	Josef Martinez	ATL v. MIN, v. CHI	9.8	If you really need to catch up in the standings, stacking Atlanta attackers (Josef and Pity) and fading their defenders might be the play. Last season, we all would have captained Josef playing twice at home.