MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 6

MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 6

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 6. 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.

MATCHES (EDT)

For detailed stats and odds, check out the MLS Fantasy: Week 6 Cheat Sheet.

Forwards
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Carlos VelaLAFC at DC12.8If these teams play 10 times, I think the LAFC attack prevails over the United defense about 7-8 times. That doesn't mean Vela is a lock at this price, though.
2Raul RuidiazSEA v. RSL11.0It's not news that we should lean at least slightly towards forwards who do more than just score goals (Vela, Mitrita, Quintero, even Rooney) but we also have to consider many of the talented poachers when they have good matchups. Seattle are superior to RSL at every level.
3Alexandru MitritaNYC v. MTL9.8Maxi is out and Mitrita had a poor match, but Montreal also allowed seven goals at SKC! I'll take their opponent's best attacking player just seven days later.
4Zlatan IbrahimovicLA at VAN11.7Supposedly he is committed to playing all the turf matches, too. I think Vancouver will do a better job against him than most seem to think, but just slightly.
5Jozy AltidoreTOR v. CHI10.1While Chicago did just commendably shut out the Red Bulls, I'm going to need to see a handful more quality defensive outings to really believe they solved their issues.
6Wayne RooneyDC v. LAFC11.5 
7Carlos Darwin QuinteroMIN at NYRB12.4I don't hate the Loons this week, but Quintero is the only one I would realistically use given the matchup at Red Bull Arena.
8Gyasi ZardesCLB v. NE10.1If you pick Gyasi, you need to be looking for a brace. The forward pool is so good this week, that spending this much for 7 points would be disappointing.
9Dom DwyerORL v. COL9.9One of the tougher guys to rank this week, but I leaned conservative. If you see him as a top play, I don't blame you.
10Jordan MorrisSEA v. RSL9.2It's going to be a fun year trying to time Morris' good outings. 
11Bradley Wright-PhillipsNYRB v. MIN9.9 
12Diego RossiLAFC at DC9.5 
13Jeremy EbobissePOR at SJ7.2 
14Fredy MonteroVAN v. LA8.6 
15Heber Araujo dos SantosNYC v. MTL8.5If he starts, you could aggressively put him around 8-11 without many complaints from me.
16Krisztian NemethSKC at FCC7.2With a plethora of good forward choices this week, I'm not waiting to see who SKC uses on the road in the last match of the week (even if Nemeth is seemingly their only option). The same goes for other positions. With CCL on Thursday and again next week, anyone could be rested. That said, I expect whoever Vermes puts onto the field to perform relatively well against FCC.
17David AccamPHI v. DAL6.3 
18Cristian EspinozaSJ v. POR8.7 
19Kei KamaraCOL at ORL8.7 
20Maximiliano UrrutiMTL at NYC8.7 
Midfielders
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Alejandro PozueloTOR v. CHI10.5A guaranteed price rise for an immediate MLS star against an unconvincing Fire defense.
2Nicolas LodeiroSEA v. RSL11.9A few more games and we may need to re-evaluate Lodeiro's fantasy prowess in this year's Sounders system, but for now he's still pretty safe and really good.
3Diego ValeriPOR at SJ11.2I began the year thinking some players may be a poor matchup with San Jose's unusual defensive system and Valeri could have been one of them. For right now, I just think it's a great matchup for everyone.
4Victor RodriguezSEA v. RSL9.7Once again, a tempting alternative to what has been a relatively reserved Lodeiro this season.
5Marco FabianPHI v. DAL9.0It's hard to look away from such a player that is so depended on by his team. The price is good compared to what he will eventually rise to.
6Sebastian BlancoPOR at SJ9.9Like VRod, it's tempting to use Blanco over Valeri. I still lean towards the creator and PK taker though.
7Federico HiguainCLB v. NE8.6Pipa is rarely deserving of the top spots he once occupied, but he's still a savvy attacker that can exploit poorly organized teams like New England.
8NaniORL v. COL8.8A breakout game is coming.
9Luciano AcostaDC v. LAFC11.0 
10Hwang In-beomVAN v. LA8.3It's purely anecdotal but Galaxy on the road feel like a great team for midfielders like Inbeom to rack up points against. If he can hit a strike from distance, even better.
11Romain AlessandriniLA at VAN9.7 
12Pedro SantosCLB v. NE8.0 
13Alexander RingNYC v. MTL9.5I prefer him in the bonus-point collecting deep midfield role, but if Dome insists on playing him higher up the field, we can work with that too. The price is, unfortunately, just a little high for the lack of scoring punch.
14Johnny RussellSKC at FCC9.8Any SKC mid works if you want to leave a spot open for them. In order after Russ: Ilie, Guti, Busio, Croizet, Rowe. Just remember they played CCL on Thursday.
15Jonathan dos SantosLA at VAN9.9 
16Albert RusnakRSL at SEA10.8 
17Michael BradleyTOR v. CHI10.5Jonathan Osorio would do the trick here, too, if you really want to max out your TFC spots against Chicago.
18Nicolas GaitanCHI at TOR9.6I'm not certain he's fit enough for a start yet, but once he is this Chicago attack could soar. Katai also looked good last week but isn't squeezing into the top 20.
19Saphir TaiderMTL at NYC11.9 
20Carles GilNE at CLB10.4It's tough to leave out some other good all-around midfielders here: Royer, Roldan, Ilie Sanchez, Osorio, Moreno, Atuesta, Trapp/Artur. However, Gil has been performing at a high level even when the team around him has not. They'll have a good match one of these days.
Defenders
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Kelvin LeerdamSEA v. RSL7.0Leerdam and Smith are still a weekly toss up, but against RSL I'll lean towards the better goal potential.
2Gaston SauroCLB v. NE6.5Assuming he's back in the lineup, I'll take the price rise with good clean sheet chance.
3Nick DeLeonTOR v. CHI6.5I've been skeptical about DeLeon keeping his spot in the attack but maybe it's actually going to stick for a while. Surely, TFC don't think it's a permanent solution...?
4Brad SmithSEA v. RSL6.8 
5Kim Kee-HeeSEA v. RSL6.5Not much reason to pay up for Chad Marshall with three cheaper Sounders defenders in the top 5. 
6Ali AdnanVAN v. LA5.5He was not shy getting forward in his debut and already looks to be one of the league's best fullbacks.
7Jonathan MensahCLB v. NE7.9Losing Harrison Afful will make the Crew's job tougher, but they still boast a top third defense.
8AuroTOR v. CHI6.3It always feels like Auro should be producing a little more offensively than he does, so it was good to see him get the assist on an aggressive charge into the box last week.
9Andreu FontasSKC at FCC5.8Zusi works here too, but I'll take the safe and cheaper bonus points at FCC. Barath is a pivot if lineup rotates.
10Justin MorrowTOR v. CHI7.2 
11Alexander CallensNYC v. MTL7.1The Pigeons' defense has been pretty rough thus far, but Piatti is set to miss another match and Montreal have not had much action in the attacking third this year relative to the rest of the league.
12RuanORL v. COL5.2He's not going to get many bonus points, or even defensive bonus points, but the attacking potential is exciting. Since there's a solid clean sheet chance here, he gets a fairly high ranking.
13Chris MavingaTOR v. CHI5.7 
14Aaron LongNYRB v. MIN6.3 
15Reto ZieglerDAL at PHI7.0We're not scared of Philly's attack now, are we?
16Walker ZimmermanLAFC at DC8.3If it exists, Zimmerman has proven time and again he has the "clutch" factor. As far as MLS regular season goes, this match is being hyped pretty hard.
17Michael Amir MurilloNYRB v. MIN7.9 
18PCVAN v. LA4.9 
19Rolf FeltscherLA at VAN5.6 
20Jack ElliottPHI v. DAL5.8 
Goalkeepers
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Zack SteffenCLB v. NE7.7Columbus are a well-drilled veteran side that will know how to handle Friedel's Revs.
2Stefan FreiPOR at SJ7.5 
3Alex BonoTOR v. CHI6.0Great first half of a keeperoo. Chicago have a little too much potential offensively for me to rank him higher.
4Jeff AttinellaPOR at SJ5.3Portland's defense is not as bad as San Jose. This might be the game the Quakes break out, but Attinella/Frei is a tempting keeperoo that may let you upgrade to VRod, Ruidiaz, or Lodeiro.
5Sean JohnsonNYC v. MTL6.6Montreal attack is nothing to be afraid of, but neither is New York's defense in 2019 so far.
6Andre BlakePHI v. DAL6.7 
7Luis RoblesNYRB v. MIN5.7It's not often we've been able to get one of the league's best keepers this cheap.
8Tim MeliaSKC at FCC7.1 
9Brian RoweORL v. COL5.6I will rarely put my fantasy fate in the hands (bad hands, at that) of Brian Rowe. Yes, even when the matchup is this good.
10Bill HamidDC v. LAFC7.9 
Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Jorge MoreiraPOR at SJ5.4He had a ton of juice in his Timbers debut. Great price for a dual threat defender against the league's worst team.
2Joao MoutinhoORL v. COL5.5 
3Jesus FerreiraDAL at PHI4.6Since Paxton Pomykal has risen above the threshhold for the value rankings (and barely missed top 20 mids this week), we will need to get our Dallas fix elsewhere. A goal and two assists last week from a $4.6 player is enough to take a chance on. Ferreira has long been viewed as a homegrown player with tons of promise.
4Joe CoronaLA at VAN6.9 
5RobinhoCLB v. NE5.8 
6Drew MoorTOR v. CHI5.4Mavinga is worth the $0.3 more to me, but Moor is a good option too.
7Alex MuylNYRB v. MIN7.3 
8Brenden AaronsonPHI v. DAL6.2Great switcheroo option. This kid can play and chip in at all levels.
9Julio CascantePOR at SJ4.0I would only want to play a Timbers CB from the bench, but if you can wait on one of your switcheroos, this could open up some salary for a Seattle or SKC upgrade. (Cascante is cheapest but pick your poison) 
10Kellyn AcostaCOL at ORL5.7 
Captain Rankings
RankPlayer PriceNotes
1Alejandro PozueloTOR v. CHI10.5The Fire did keep Red Bulls off of the score sheet, but TFC have found the right recipe so far this year.
2Carlos VelaLAFC at DC12.8Not an ideal matchup, but he's a safe captain each week with high upside regardless of matchup.
3Nicolas LodeiroSEA v. RSL11.9I'd actually be more nervous about captaining Lodeiro than Vela.
4Diego ValeriPOR at SJ11.2Portland will see this match as a prime opportunity for 3 points.
5Zlatan IbrahimovicLA at VAN11.7The gambler's choice. Could make a case for any of the top 7-9 forward though.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JD Bazzo
JD is a former RotoWire contributor. He was a finalist for the 2017 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year award. JD had been writing for RotoWire since 2015. He is a proud Pittsburgh native, purveyor of fantasy sports, and likely the first Penn State Basketball fan you've ever met.
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