This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.
The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 20. 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.
Additional comments will be added later
Forwards | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Brian Fernandez | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 10.5 | Prevailing wisdom is to go with the double home game players, but this isn't just any road match, it's Fernandez's first taste of a big rivalry. Don't let 120 scoreless minutes distract from the fact that he scored in each of his previous five matches to kick off his MLS career. |
2 | Josef Martinez | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 12.0 | Josef looks hungry after returning from Copa America. Both opponents have been pretty good in the defensive end this year, but Houston are having a very poor stretch of late. |
3 | Jozy Altidore | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 10.3 | Jozy will likely be underowned, with the above two strolling into most lineups and everyone assuming that Pozuelo will provide enough TFC attacking coverage. With some other expensive options in the midfield, I don't foresee myself being able to afford this good third attacking choice. |
4 | Wayne Rooney | DC at FCC, at ATL | 10.8 | The Cincy game is appealing, but I'm comfortable passing on Rooney this round. |
5 | Alberth Elis | HOU at ATL, at TOR | 10.6 | Unlucky not to score multiple goals last week. |
6 | Gustavo Bou | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 9.5 | New England's attack gets instantly frightening with Bou in the mix. Bruce Arena sounds ready to unleash him this week. |
7 | Carlos Vela | LAFC at LA | 12.0 | |
8 | C.J. Sapong | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 7.4 | |
9 | Gyasi Zardes | CLB at CHI, v. MTL | 8.7 | |
10 | Kekuta Manneh | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 7.1 | Two home games make Manneh a solid choice for your third forward (from the bench), |
11 | Mauro Manotas | HOU at ATL, at TOR | 8.3 | |
12 | Romell Quioto | HOU at ATL, at TOR | 8.0 | |
13 | Fredy Montero | VAN at NE, v. SJ | 8.4 | |
14 | Teal Bunbury | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 7.8 | |
15 | Darren Mattocks | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 6.5 | Presumably gets at least one start now that he's settled back in from the Gold Cup. |
16 | Jeremy Ebobisse | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 5.3 | |
17 | Tesho Akindele | ORL at POR, v. NYRB | 6.3 | Slightly more assured of minutes folllowing Dwyer's red card. |
18 | Fanendo Adi | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 7.4 | |
19 | Brian White | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 6.7 | BWP could steal a start, but it's more likely he continues to work his way back to fitness with substitute appearances. |
20 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 8.0 |
Midfielders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 10.9 | The gang is back together and Pozuelo should overcome two solid opponents in the comfort of his home stadium. |
2 | Carles Gil | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 11.3 | (NOTE: Weather looks ugly Wednesday.) One yellow away from suspension, but he gets to play two of the league's worst teams. |
3 | Diego Valeri | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 11.5 | Tough situation here because if Portland rotates it will be Wednesday, not for the rivalry match. However, if Portland rotate, Nani is the only big name to bring in that has a remaining DGW. |
4 | Pity Martinez | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 9.5 | NOTE: Not in starting lineup Wednesday |
5 | Sebastian Blanco | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 11.1 | See Diego Valeri^ |
6 | Nicolas Gaitan | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 10.1 | Gaitan will want to erase the bad memories of last week with a big game. I like the narrative! |
7 | Nani | ORL at POR, v. NYRB | 9.5 | |
8 | Pedro Santos | CLB at CHI, v. MTL | 8.1 | It's a big week for cellar-dwelling Columbus who desperately need to win at least one of these matches. Both opponents are susceptible and Santos will be tasked with leading the attack. |
9 | Michael Bradley | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 9.1 | |
10 | Yordy Reyna | VAN at NE, v. SJ | 8.5 | |
11 | Daniel Royer | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 9.5 | |
12 | Jonathan Osorio | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 9.3 | |
13 | Kaku | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 8.4 | |
14 | Aleksandar Katai | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 8.5 | |
15 | Julian Gressel | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 8.1 | NOTE: Playing at right back Wednesday |
16 | Paul Arriola | DC at FCC, at ATL | 8.4 | |
17 | Emmanuel Ledesma | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 7.6 | I think Ledesma is certainly worth a look for a 4th or 5th midfield option at this price. |
18 | Chris Mueller | ORL at POR, v. NYRB | 6.4 | |
19 | Justin Meram | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 7.0 | NOTE: Not in starting lineup Wednesday |
20 | Cristian Penilla | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 7.9 |
Defenders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Larrys Mabiala | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 8.5 | NOTE: He is questionable to start Wednesday and may be held out as a precaution ahead of the big rivalry match against Seattle this weekend. |
2 | Leandro Gonzalez Pirez | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 6.5 | |
3 | Miles Robinson | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 6.4 | I'm leaning towards using both top Atlanta CBs this week. |
4 | Omar Gonzalez | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 7.0 | |
5 | Francisco Calvo | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 6.5 | |
6 | Jorge Moreira | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 7.0 | |
7 | Chris Mavinga | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 6.4 | Gonzalez projects for more bonus points, but Mavinga saves 0.6 on a week with a tight budget. |
8 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 5.8 | |
9 | Jalil Anibaba | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 4.9 | One of the best values of the week, but careful with Wednesday's weather. |
10 | Leonardo Jara | DC at FCC, at ATL | 6.6 | |
11 | Kendall Waston | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 5.7 | When price comes into play, I'd probably go find a cheaper FCC defender, but Waston is top dog if we're strictly projecting points. |
12 | Steve Birnbaum | DC at FCC, at ATL | 6.7 | |
13 | Auro | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 6.0 | |
14 | Frederic Brillant | DC at FCC, at ATL | 6.6 | |
15 | Justin Morrow | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 5.7 | |
16 | Harrison Afful | CLB at CHI, v. MTL | 5.4 | |
17 | Aaron Long | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 6.8 | All road games are winnable for the Red Bulls. |
18 | Michael Amir Murillo | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 5.6 | |
19 | Kemar Lawrence | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 5.9 | |
20 | Edgar Castillo | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 5.9 |
Goalkeepers | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Brad Guzan | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 5.3 | |
2 | Matt Turner | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 4.9 | |
3 | Quentin Westberg | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 6.2 | |
4 | Steve Clark | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 6.5 | |
5 | Bill Hamid | DC at FCC, at ATL | 6.4 | |
6 | Kenneth Kronholm | CHI v. CLB, at PHI | 5.1 | |
7 | Spencer Richey | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 4.8 | |
8 | Eloy Room | CLB at CHI, v. MTL | 5.0 | |
9 | Luis Robles | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 5.4 | |
10 | Brian Rowe | ORL at POR, v. NYRB | 6.3 |
Value Rankings | ||||
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(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above) | ||||
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Cristian Casseres | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 7.0 | Casseres is a very steady source of cheap points that also can sneak onto the score sheet. |
2 | Brandon Bye | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 5.3 | |
3 | Mathieu Deplagne | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 4.5 | A wingback with two home games is almost always worth considering, given their opportunities at both ends. |
4 | Marco Delgado | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 7.4 | |
5 | Juan Agudelo | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 6.8 | With Bou joining the lineup this week, there are enough questions about how Agudelo fits into the lineup that I am being cautious in projecting his minutes. |
6 | Hwang In-beom | VAN at NE, v. SJ | 6.7 | |
7 | Marc Rzatkowski | NYRB at TOR, at ORL | 6.9 | |
8 | Allan Cruz | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 7.2 | |
9 | Alvas Powell | FCC v. DC, v. NE | 4.7 | Andrew Farrell and Jorge Luis Corrales are some other cheap defender options, but Powell has a little more appeal with the double home games. |
10 | Erickson Gallardo | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 7.0 | Another attacking piece for a Toronto team looking to make a push. The quick winger should get his first minutes this week. |
Captain Rankings | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 10.9 | With Portland rotation (I think only mildly likely) and Gil's yellow card risk, Pozuelo is the safe choice this week. |
2 | Carles Gil | NE v. VAN, at FCC | 11.3 | NOTE: Probably would bump him down a few spots with Wednesday's weather news. |
3 | Brian Fernandez | POR v. ORL, at SEA | 10.5 | |
4 | Josef Martinez | ATL v. HOU, v. DC | 12.0 | NOTE: A lackluster lineup release minutes ago would have me reconsidering Josef for captain. |
5 | Jozy Altidore | TOR v. NYRB, v. HOU | 10.3 |