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 21. 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 | Carlos Vela | LAFC v. ATL | 12.5 | Vela is virtually matchup-proof at this point, but even if he weren't Atlanta have been weaker defensively over the past handful of games. |
2 | Brian Fernandez | POR v. LA | 10.9 | Jozy has the better fixture and Zlatan is fresh off of a hat trick, but Fernandez and the Timbers are finding ways to win games. I'm impressed every time I watch Fernandez. |
3 | Jozy Altidore | TOR v. FCC | 10.5 | A healthy Pozuelo gives Jozy an arguement for #1 spot, while no Pozuelo would leave me bumping him down a few notches. |
4 | Heber Araujo dos Santos | NYC v. SKC | 9.5 | |
5 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | LA at POR | 10.5 | Portland have gutted out some impressive efforts defensively here in mid-season, but it's tough to envision them stopping a relatively healthy Galaxy side, with Zlatan carrying some momentum from last week. |
6 | Carlos Darwin Quintero | MIN v. VAN | 10.0 | Quintero has been back on the score sheet lately, but he's still not quite back to picking up all the underlying things that made him a reliable fantasy force. |
7 | Josef Martinez | ATL at LAFC | 12.5 | It's tough to put somebody in such great form this low, but the opponent is intimidating and we have better options. |
8 | Gustavo Bou | NE v. ORL | 9.8 | He could be higher in the rankings this week, but I'd rather not overreact to the new kid on the block quite yet. Let's see how this Revs formation starts to shake out after Bruce threw something a little different onto the field last game. |
9 | Chris Wondolowski | SJ v. COL | 7.2 | |
10 | Diego Rossi | LAFC v. ATL | 10.7 | |
11 | Wayne Rooney | DC at CHI | 11.1 | |
12 | Raul Ruidiaz | SEA at HOU | 11.2 | |
13 | Adama Diomande | LAFC v. ATL | 9.0 | |
14 | Jesus Ferreira | DAL v. RSL | 6.8 | Now that we have the star talent out of the way in that top-13, Ferreira would make for a pretty good cheap third forward. |
15 | Kacper Przybylko | PHI at MTL | 8.0 | |
16 | Mason Toye | MIN v. VAN | 6.5 | Not guaranteed to start and I don't think he's part of an optimal Minnesota trio for our fantasy teams, either, given their chances of keeping a clean sheet. |
17 | Jordan Morris | SEA at HOU | 8.6 | |
18 | C.J. Sapong | CHI v. DC | 7.3 | |
19 | Dominique Badji | DAL v. RSL | 6.9 | |
20 | Kei Kamara | COL at SJ | 7.9 |
Midfielders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. FCC | 11.4 | I'm skeptical he returns from his ankle injury in a game TFC should be able to win without him, but if he's fit enough to play then he has to be in your lineup. |
2 | Vako | SJ v. COL | 8.2 | When a player puts up back to back double-digit shot outings on a team that is confidently mowing down opponents, I'm just going to get out of the way and glue them to the top of the rankings. |
3 | Carles Gil | NE v. ORL | 11.8 | Stock is high on a rising Revs group. With a potential shift away from his central positioning in favor of Bou, I am keeping a close eye on Gil and whether his influence remains quite as immense as it has been. |
4 | Cristian Espinoza | SJ v. COL | 8.9 | |
5 | Magnus Eriksson | SJ v. COL | 9.2 | The Quakes have to considered heavily in this matchup, and not using all three spots seems like a mistake. |
6 | Nicolas Lodeiro | SEA at HOU | 12.5 | With Manotas on the way out and Elis serving a suspension, Seattle are primed to take three road points here. |
7 | Maximiliano Moralez | NYC v. SKC | 12.1 | Huge fan of Maxi this week and every week, but there's some stiff competition above here and SKC, even this version of them, are capable of clogging up an away game. |
8 | Diego Valeri | POR v. LA | 11.7 | |
9 | Eduard Atuesta | LAFC v. ATL | 11.2 | |
10 | Jonathan Osorio | TOR v. FCC | 8.8 | I'm going to cheat and also include Michael Bradley here - a few spots under Osorio, but I wanted to squeeze some other guys into the rankings. |
11 | Saphir Taider | MTL v. PHI | 9.9 | Piatti returned to action on Wednesday and scored, but Taider should still be front and center for much of the match this weekend. |
12 | Marco Fabian | PHI at MTL | 8.9 | |
13 | Nicolas Gaitan | CHI v. DC | 9.7 | Consider me late to the Gaitan is somewhat unpredictable on a weekly basis party. |
14 | Kaku | NYRB v. CLB | 8.5 | |
15 | Daniel Royer | NYRB v. CLB | 9.1 | |
16 | Sebastian Blanco | POR v. LA | 10.7 | |
17 | Jan Gregus | MIN v. VAN | 9.8 | Heavy favorite? Check. Some set pieces? Check. Midfield boss? Check. |
18 | Nani | ORL at NE | 9.1 | |
19 | Pity Martinez | ATL at LAFC | 9.8 | I realize the matchup is poor, but Pity is coming off of a big game against DC United, scores or assists more often than he doesn't, and Atlanta feel up for this high profile match. If I had unlimited budget, he would be on my bench Friday night. Since I should be ranking responsibly, he comes in marginally lower. |
20 | Paxton Pomykal | DAL v. RSL | 8.8 | Seems about 50/50 to return this weekend, but if he does the matchup is pretty good. |
Defenders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Romain Metanire | MIN v. VAN | 7.0 | Best blend of offense and clean sheet chance this weekend if you can afford it. |
2 | Ike Opara | MIN v. VAN | 8.4 | I would not pay $8.4 for Ike at this point in the season, but more power to you if you can squeeze it! |
3 | Omar Gonzalez | TOR v. FCC | 7.5 | FCC have a negative 21 goal differential on the road this year. |
4 | Hassani Dotson | MIN v. VAN | 5.9 | |
5 | Tommy Thompson | SJ v. COL | 6.7 | |
6 | Nick Lima | SJ v. COL | 5.1 | Make sure you budget a little extra in case he doesn't start, but I like this value a good deal. |
7 | Auro | TOR v. FCC | 6.5 | |
8 | Michael Amir Murillo | NYRB v. CLB | 6.0 | Columbus have been both dreadful and offensively unadventurous on the road this year and things aren't particularly looking up. |
9 | Anton Tinnerholm | NYC v. SKC | 7.1 | |
10 | Ronald Matarrita | NYC v. SKC | 6.1 | |
11 | Florian Jungwirth | SJ v. COL | 7.0 | |
12 | Aaron Long | NYRB v. CLB | 7.0 | |
13 | Michael Boxall | MIN v. VAN | 6.9 | |
14 | Reto Ziegler | DAL v. RSL | 7.2 | Dallas may fly under the radar this week as a team to get slight defensive exposure to. |
15 | Ryan Hollingshead | DAL v. RSL | 8.0 | |
16 | Justin Morrow | TOR v. FCC | 5.7 | |
17 | Walker Zimmerman | LAFC v. ATL | 6.9 | |
18 | Guram Kashia | SJ v. COL | 6.0 | |
19 | Antonio Delamea | NE v. ORL | 6.4 | |
20 | Reggie Cannon | DAL v. RSL | 5.7 |
Goalkeepers | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Vito Mannone | MIN v. VAN | 6.5 | |
2 | Daniel Vega | SJ v. COL | 6.0 | |
3 | Quentin Westberg | TOR v. FCC | 6.5 | |
4 | Luis Robles | NYRB v. CLB | 5.8 | |
5 | Matt Turner | NE v. ORL | 5.4 | |
6 | Jesse Gonzalez | DAL v. RSL | 6.6 | |
7 | Sean Johnson | NYC v. SKC | 5.9 | |
8 | Tyler Miller | LAFC v. ATL | 6.0 | |
9 | Steve Clark | POR v. LA | 6.6 | |
10 | Bill Hamid | DC at CHI | 6.2 |
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 | Alexander Ring | NYC v. SKC | 7.5 | |
2 | Juan Agudelo | NE v. ORL | 7.0 | Depending on the starting lineup, both Agudelo and Diego Fagundez could be values. There may not be a place for them in a suddenly-crowded midfield, though. |
3 | Kemar Lawrence | NYRB v. CLB | 5.5 | |
4 | Cristian Casseres | NYRB v. CLB | 6.8 | |
5 | Bryan Acosta | DAL v. RSL | 6.4 | If Pomykal is out, I like Acosta a little more. |
6 | Andrew Farrell | NE v. ORL | 5.2 | |
7 | Marc Rzatkowski | NYRB v. CLB | 6.9 | |
8 | Tsubasa Endoh | TOR v. FCC | 4.7 | Pretty good chance he bumps back to the bench this game, but it depends on the health of some Minnesota midfielders. |
9 | Chase Gasper | MIN v. VAN | 4.8 | Good chance he goes back to the bench, but if not the price is tasty. |
10 | DeJuan Jones | NE v. ORL | 5.0 |
Captain Rankings | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Carlos Vela | LAFC v. ATL | 12.5 | |
2 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. FCC | 11.4 | |
3 | Brian Fernandez | POR v. LA | 10.9 | |
4 | Jozy Altidore | TOR v. FCC | 10.5 | |
5 | Vako | SJ v. COL | 8.2 |