MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 7

MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 7

This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.

MATCHES (EDT)

  • Tuesday, 8:00 p.m: D.C. United v. Montreal Impact
  • Wednesday, 9:00 p.m: Colorado Rapids v. Seattle Sounders
  • Friday, 8:30 p.m: Chicago Fire v. Vancouver Whitecaps
  • Saturday, 1:00 p.m: Montreal Impact v. Columbus Crew
  • Saturday, 3:00 p.m: Houston Dynamo v. San Jose Earthquakes
  • Saturday, 4:00 p.m: Seattle Sounders v. Toronto FC
  • Saturday, 5:00 p.m: Minnesota United v. New York City FC
  • Saturday,  7:30 p.m: New England Revolution v. Atlanta United
  • Saturday, 8:00 p.m: FC Dallas v. Portland Timbers
  • Saturday, 9:00 p.m: Colorado Rapids v. D.C. United
  • Saturday, 9:00 p.m: Real Salt Lake v. Orlando City
  • Saturday, 10:30 p.m: Los Angeles FC v. FC Cincinnati
  • Saturday, 10:30 p.m: Los Angeles Galaxy v. Philadelphia Union
  • Sunday, 7:00 p.m: Sporting KC v. New York Red Bulls

For detailed stats and odds, check out the MLS Fantasy: Week 7 Cheat Sheet.

UPDATED RANKINGS

Forwards

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Carlos VelaLAFC v. FCC13.3This may seem like a hot take, but I'll take Vela on the single game over all double game week forwards. Ruidiaz is returning from injury, Morris only has points for his minutes played in 3/5 matches, and Kei could easily be rested as well.
2Zlatan IbrahimovicLA v. PHI12.2 
3Diego RossiLAFC v. FCC10.0Last week's hat trick hero is worth considering as a discount Vela in a great matchup.
4Raul RuidiazSEA v. TOR11.0 
5Wayne RooneyDC v.MTL, at COL11.5Rooney appears to be battling an illness this week, so wouldn't be my safest choice to play on the road at altitude.
6Orji OkwonkwoMTL at DC, v. CLB6.7 
7Harry NovilloMTL at DC, v. CLB8.0 
8Alberth ElisHOU v. SJ9.7Perfectly designed to tear apart San Jose.
9Carlos Darwin QuinteroMIN v. NYC12.4It sounds like he will miss due to injury, but if he starts in the team's stadium opener, there will be some added motivation.
10Mauro ManotasHOU v. SJ10.1 
11Christian RamirezLAFC v. FCC6.3Ramirez is a great value is he starts again.
12Gyasi ZardesCLB at MTL9.7 
13Josef MartinezATL v. NE9.7New England's defense is far more dysfunctional than Atlanta's attack.
14Alexandru MitritaNYC at MIN9.3He's burned me a few times already this year, but still have faith in the NYC attack once they figure it all out.
15Jordan MorrisSEA v. TOR8.7 
16Kei KamaraCOL v. DC9.0 
17C.J. SapongCHI v. VAN8.7 
18Jesus FerreiraDAL v. POR5.1If you played Portland's opponent each week, you'd be doing pretty well so far.
19Dom DwyerORL at RSL9.6 
20Jozy AltidoreTOR at SEA10.6 

Midfielders

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Luciano AcostaDC v.MTL, at COL10.5Won't have his buddy Wayne for the first match, but with big European teams kicking their scouting of him into high gear, he should be motivated to produce.
2Saphir TaiderMTL at DC, v. CLB11.6Easy selection this week even with Piatti missing both matches (likely) and Urruti suspended for the first.
3Paul ArriolaDC v.MTL, at COL8.8DC's workhorse will find a way to nab some points over the course of two good matches.
4Nicolas LodeiroSEA v. TOR12.0 
5Lucas RodriguezDC v.MTL, at COL9.0We don't have a clear idea yet if Rodriguez will be a player susceptible to rotation on DGWs, but he seems like he'll be able to keep trucking.
6Johnny RussellSKC v. NYRB10.3If Vela weren't around, Russell would be a legit MVP contender.
7Junior MorenoDC v.MTL, at COL8.2DC United have some depth in the midfield so I'm fairly reluctant on starting any of them. That said, Moreno has been high quality this season.
8Paxton PomykalDAL v. POR8.2 
9Micheal AziraMTL at DC, v. CLB5.7Samuel Piette is close, but Azira strikes me as having slightly more bonus point potential if you need a fifth midfielder and third Montreal player.
10Albert RusnakRSL v. ORL10.4 
11Romain AlessandriniLA v. PHI9.3Signs of life in his two full starts. Don't let the bad average fool you.
12Russell CanouseDC v.MTL, at COL7.4 
13Pity MartinezATL v. NE9.4Should be back from a minor hamstring injury after the bye week. Hasn't given us much reason to believe in him for fantasy yet, but he's a quality player and odds are things will start to click soon as he adjusts to life in the US and MLS.
14Victor RodriguezSEA v. TOR9.5 
15Alejandro PozueloTOR at SEA11.0 
16Diego ValeriPOR at DAL10.7 
17Marco FabianPHI at LA8.6 
18Carles GilNE v. ATL10.8 
19Tomas MartinezHOU v. SJ8.2 
20Federico HiguainCLB at MTL8.7 

Defenders

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Steve BirnbaumDC v.MTL, at COL8.5The matchups are very good and Birnbaum is the likelier centerback to play both matches. Montreal are missing two of their three most dangerous players.
2Leonardo JaraDC v.MTL, at COL8.1Should get high up the field against Montreal who will almost surely sit back and defend for most of the match.
3Frederic BrillantDC v.MTL, at COL7.4I also have a suspicion Brillant could be rested for one of the matches.
4Zakaria DialloMTL at DC, v. CLB6.2Diallo is a good bet for a handful of bonus points over the two matches and Montreal are a relatively solid defensive side if you can ignore the touchdown's worth of goals they allowed to SKC.
5Chris McCannDC v.MTL, at COL4.8With Mora out, McCann is probably starting both matches at a great price.
6Daniel LovitzMTL at DC, v. CLB5.8 
7Bacary SagnaMTL at DC, v. CLB5.2 
8Jukka RaitalaMTL at DC, v. CLB4.7Victor Cabrera could slot in for one, but Raitala is the far better player and Remi Garde knows it.
9Walker ZimmermanLAFC v. FCC8.8 
10Steven BeitashourLAFC v. FCC6.7 
11Rolf FeltscherLA v. PHI6.1 
12Miles RobinsonATL v. NE6.0Even Frank de Boer can out-coach Brad Friedel, right? Atlanta have had a bye week to figure things out and Robinson has already been really good this year.
13Kelvin LeerdamSEA v. TOR7.5 
14Brad SmithSEA v. TOR7.3 
15Graham ZusiSKC v. NYRB7.7Not a great matchup, but SKC remains one of the standout teams in MLS and Zusi is in a pretty unique role for fantasy defenders.
16Reto ZieglerDAL v. POR7.5When Dielna is possibly on the field, we need to be aware of who takes penalties on the opposing side.
17Maynor FigueroaHOU v. SJ5.9 
18Reggie CannonDAL v. POR5.7 
19Brooks LennonRSL v. ORL5.0 
20Ike OparaMIN v. NYC7.3Ike doesn't have the hops that he used to, but in the stadium opener, some magic on a set piece header feels a little more likely.

Goalkeepers

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Bill HamidDC v.MTL, at COL8.2With Rooney only playing in one match, using Hamid in one of your three DC spots makes life that much easier. I wouldn't blame you for pivoting to Arriola or Rodriguez though.
2Evan BushMTL at DC, v. CLB5.6 
3Brad GuzanATL v. NE6.0 
4Joe WillisHOU v. SJ5.1One good match against Portland does not make San Jose frightening.
5Tyler MillerLAFC v. FCC6.5 
6Stefan FreiSEA v. TOR8.0 
7Zack SteffenCLB at MTL8.2 
8David BinghamLA v. PHI5.5 
9Nick RimandoRSL v. ORL5.2 
10David OustedCHI v. VAN5.6 

Value Rankings

(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Djordje MihailovicCHI v. VAN6.7Djordje collected six (!!!) bonus points last week and needs to be in the Fire lineup even when Gaitan is inserted full-time.
2Brenden AaronsonPHI at LA6.4Fabian just missed the top 20 midfield spots, but Aaronson still stands out as a cheap alternative.
3Samuel PietteMTL at DC, v. CLB6.9 
4Anthony Jackson-HamelMTL at DC, v. CLB4.0Talented kid needs more minutes and with Urruti out, might get at least 90 more than usual.
5Ali AdnanVAN at CHI5.4Missed a dumb penalty kick last week but at least he took it, right?
6Ezequiel BarcoATL v. NE6.9 
7Memo RodriguezHOU v. SJ6.1I still am needing one or two good value plays to get my preferred DGW lineup + Vela. If Memo starts, that could help!
8Josh WilliamsCLB at MTL5.5 
9Damir KreilachRSL v. ORL7.4 
10Quincy AmarikwaDC v.MTL, at COL5.7Can't guarantee any points, but Quincy will work his tail off when he's out there in place of Rooney.

Captain Rankings

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Nicolas LodeiroSEA v. TOR12.0(I'm not going to adjust these post-Tuesday's cancellation, but you should be able to figure it out)
2Luciano AcostaDC v.MTL, at COL10.5If Rooney was playing in both, I'd consider Acosta for the #1 spot. (Or I'd just consider Rooney for the #1 spot!)
3Saphir TaiderMTL at DC, v. CLB11.6Lacks the ceiling of the guys above due to the tough opponents and Piatti/Urruti missing out, but he's as safe a pick for 10-12 points as it gets.
4Carlos VelaLAFC v. FCC13.3At home to the expansion side, I'm still putting him in the mix.
5Steve BirnbaumDC v.MTL, at COL8.5With a goal or clean sheet in four of five matches, Birnbaum would have made a really good captain's pick for most two week stretches. This is definitely a play on two clean sheets, and while that's unlikely, it's not the worst differential you could make. It's surely safer than Ruidiaz who would be my 6th ranked captain pick (and top two if not for his recent injury).

INITIAL RANKINGS

Forwards
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Carlos VelaLAFC v. FCC13.3This may seem like a hot take, but I'll take Vela on the single game over all double game week forwards. Ruidiaz is returning from injury, Morris only has points for his minutes played in 3/5 matches, and Kei could easily be rested as well.
2Raul RuidiazSEA at COL, v. TOR11.0He appears to be training in full after sitting the last match out, but I do hesitate whether he can lace up the boots for both games. Even with one, he could compete with the other double game week (DGW) forwards for points.
3Zlatan IbrahimovicLA v. PHI12.2 
4Jordan MorrisSEA at COL, v. TOR8.7A very goal and assist dependent fantasy player, as evidenced by his trio of 2's in the games he hasn't scored or assisted. I'll probably opt for the safe Sounders midfield points rather than risk a 4, BUT Colorado is a tasty matchup.
5Kei KamaraCOL v. SEA, v. DC9.0Old Man Kei could always get rested, but he has a goal in half of his games and also five shots in half of his games. We want to be utilizing the DGW, so some Colorado players may need to be forced into our lineups.
6Diego RossiLAFC v. FCC10.0Last week's hat trick hero is worth considering as a discount Vela in a great matchup.
7Wayne RooneyDC v.MTL, at COL11.5SINGLE GAME ALERT. Rooney will miss the first match due to a red card last match, but with the second match on the road in Colorado, he's still one of the better single game week forwards.
8Orji OkwonkwoMTL at DC, v. CLB6.7 
9Diego RubioCOL v. SEA, v. DC6.8Colorado had their best offensive outing of the year without him in the lineup last week, but if Kei is rested, Rubio could feasibly start in both.
10Harry NovilloMTL at DC, v. CLB8.0 
11Alberth ElisHOU v. SJ9.7Perfectly designed to tear apart San Jose.
12Carlos Darwin QuinteroMIN v. NYC12.4 
13Mauro ManotasHOU v. SJ10.1 
14Christian RamirezLAFC v. FCC6.3Ramirez is a great value is he starts again.
15Gyasi ZardesCLB at MTL9.7 
16Josef MartinezATL at NE9.7New England's defense is far more dysfunctional than Atlanta's attack.
17Alexandru MitritaNYC at MIN9.3He's burned me a few times already this year, but still have faith in the NYC attack once they figure it all out.
18Will BruinSEA at COL, v. TOR5.7With Ruidiaz returning from an injury, Bruin could be good for a game and a half. Or he's good for two shorter sub appearances. Either way, I'm looking at Sounders with better opportunity.
19C.J. SapongCHI v. VAN8.7 
20Jesus FerreiraDAL v. POR5.1If you played Portland's opponent each week, you'd be doing pretty well so far.
Midfielders
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Nicolas LodeiroSEA at COL, v. TOR12.0He's usually atop the rankings in a single game week, so why would we do anything different during a double?
2Luciano AcostaDC v.MTL, at COL10.5Won't have his buddy Wayne for the first match, but with big European teams kicking their scouting of him into high gear, he should be motivated to produce.
3Saphir TaiderMTL at DC, v. CLB11.6Easy selection this week even with Piatti missing both matches (likely) and Urruti suspended for the first.
4Paul ArriolaDC v.MTL, at COL8.8DC's workhorse will find a way to nab some points over the course of two good matches.
5Cristian RoldanSEA at COL, v. TOR9.3Safer than VRod this week and still jumps into the attack from time to time.
6Victor RodriguezSEA at COL, v. TOR9.5In my opinion, VRod is a good candidate to be rotated for one of the matches.
7Lucas RodriguezDC v.MTL, at COL9.0We don't have a clear idea yet if Rodriguez will be a player susceptible to rotation on DGWs, but he seems like he'll be able to keep trucking.
8Johnny RussellSKC v. NYRB10.3If Vela weren't around, Russell would be a legit MVP contender.
9Gustav SvenssonSEA at COL, v. TOR7.3 
10Junior MorenoDC v.MTL, at COL8.2DC United have some depth in the midfield so I'm fairly reluctant on starting any of them. That said, Moreno has been high quality this season.
11Paxton PomykalDAL v. POR8.2 
12Benny FeilhaberCOL v. SEA, v. DC7.4Pick your poison with the Rapids midfielders. Feilhaber gets the edge for attacking potential and reliability but I'd go Basset for upside, Price for super safe points, and Acosta (if starting) for the best mixture of the two. See who starts Wednesday and make your best guess as to playing time!
13Micheal AziraMTL at DC, v. CLB5.7Samuel Piette is close, but Azira strikes me as having slightly more bonus point potential if you need a fifth midfielder and third Montreal player.
14Albert RusnakRSL v. ORL10.4 
15Cole BassettCOL v. SEA, v. DC5.4 
16Kellyn AcostaCOL v. SEA, v. DC5.7 
17Jack PriceCOL v. SEA, v. DC6.0 
18Romain AlessandriniLA v. PHI9.3Signs of life in his two full starts. Don't let the bad average fool you.
19Russell CanouseDC v.MTL, at COL7.4 
20Pity MartinezATL at NE9.4Should be back from a minor hamstring injury after the bye week. Hasn't given us much reason to believe in him for fantasy yet, but he's a quality player and odds are things will start to click soon as he adjusts to life in the US and MLS.
Defenders
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Steve BirnbaumDC v.MTL, at COL8.5The matchups are very good and Birnbaum is the likelier centerback to play both matches. Montreal are missing two of their three most dangerous players.
2Leonardo JaraDC v.MTL, at COL8.1Should get high up the field against Montreal who will almost surely sit back and defend for most of the match.
3Kelvin LeerdamSEA at COL, v. TOR7.5The likelier fullback to start both in Seattle.
4Kim Kee-HeeSEA at COL, v. TOR7.0Hasn't been racking up the bonus points I'd like to see, but that could be a function of Seattle being relatively dominant.
5Brad SmithSEA at COL, v. TOR7.3With Nouhou Tolo waiting in the wings, I could envision Smith only getting one of the two starts.
6Frederic BrillantDC v.MTL, at COL7.4I also have a suspicion Brillant could be rested for one of the matches.
7Chad MarshallSEA at COL, v. TOR7.9Marshall has historically gotten a rest during some double game weeks and Roman Torres is very capable of filling in.
8Zakaria DialloMTL at DC, v. CLB6.2Diallo is a good bet for a handful of bonus points over the two matches and Montreal are a relatively solid defensive side if you can ignore the touchdown's worth of goals they allowed to SKC.
9Chris McCannDC v.MTL, at COL4.8With Mora out, McCann is probably starting both matches at a great price.
10Daniel LovitzMTL at DC, v. CLB5.8 
11Bacary SagnaMTL at DC, v. CLB5.2 
12Jukka RaitalaMTL at DC, v. CLB4.7Victor Cabrera could slot in for one, but Raitala is the far better player and Remi Garde knows it.
13Walker ZimmermanLAFC v. FCC8.8 
14Keegan RosenberryCOL v. SEA, v. DC4.3I'm not in the business of predicting starting CBs for the Rapids (ok maybe that's exactly part of the business I'm in) but it's a good bet that Rosenberry starts. Maybe I should rank more Colorado defenders given the two home games, but with likely rotation, the defense being really poor, and their opponents being high quality, it feels wasteful.
15Steven BeitashourLAFC v. FCC6.7 
16Rolf FeltscherLA v. PHI6.1 
17Miles RobinsonATL at NE6.0Even Frank de Boer can out-coach Brad Friedel, right? Atlanta have had a bye week to figure things out and Robinson has already been really good this year.
18Graham ZusiSKC v. NYRB7.7Not a great matchup, but SKC remains one of the standout teams in MLS and Zusi is in a pretty unique role for fantasy defenders.
19Reto ZieglerDAL v. POR7.5When Dielna is possibly on the field, we need to be aware of who takes penalties on the opposing side.
20Maynor FigueroaHOU v. SJ5.9 
Goalkeepers
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Bill HamidDC v.MTL, at COL8.2With Rooney only playing in one match, using Hamid in one of your three DC spots makes life that much easier. I wouldn't blame you for pivoting to Arriola or Rodriguez though.
2Stefan FreiSEA at COL, v. TOR8.0It's much tougher to plug Frei in over some other Seattle options than it is Hamid, but that doesn't make his pair of fixtures less appealing. Solid choice this week.
3Evan BushMTL at DC, v. CLB5.6Bush is a candidate for a price rise if you just want to lock him onto the bench behind Hamid. Alternatively...
4Tim HowardCOL v. SEA, v. DC5.2...you could use Howard in a keeperoo if Hamid's first game goes poorly.
5Brad GuzanATL at NE6.0 
6Joe WillisHOU v. SJ5.1One good match against Portland does not make San Jose frightening.
7Tyler MillerLAFC v. FCC6.5 
8Zack SteffenCLB at MTL8.2 
9David BinghamLA v. PHI5.5You'll get to see most of Hamid's minutes before deciding, if Bingham is the second half of a keeperoo.
10Nick RimandoRSL v. ORL5.2 
Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Djordje MihailovicCHI v. VAN6.7Djordje collected six (!!!) bonus points last week and needs to be in the Fire lineup even when Gaitan is inserted full-time.
2Brenden AaronsonPHI at LA6.4Fabian just missed the top 20 midfield spots, but Aaronson still stands out as a cheap alternative.
3Samuel PietteMTL at DC, v. CLB6.9 
4Anthony Jackson-HamelMTL at DC, v. CLB4.0Talented kid needs more minutes and with Urruti out, might get at least 90 more than usual.
5Ali AdnanVAN at CHI5.4Missed a dumb penalty kick last week but at least he took it, right?
6Ezequiel BarcoATL at NE6.9 
7Memo RodriguezHOU v. SJ6.1I still am needing one or two good value plays to get my preferred DGW lineup + Vela. If Memo starts, that could help!
8Josh WilliamsCLB at MTL5.5 
9Damir KreilachRSL v. ORL7.4 
10Quincy AmarikwaDC v.MTL, at COL5.7Can't guarantee any points, but Quincy will work his tail off when he's out there in place of Rooney.
Captain Rankings
RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Nicolas LodeiroSEA at COL, v. TOR12.0By a good stretch, the safest pick this week. If memory serves he has been rested before on a DGW, but not enough that I can predict that with any measure of certainty.
2Luciano AcostaDC v.MTL, at COL10.5If Rooney was playing in both, I'd consider Acosta for the #1 spot. (Or I'd just consider Rooney for the #1 spot!)
3Saphir TaiderMTL at DC, v. CLB11.6Lacks the ceiling of the guys above due to the tough opponents and Piatti/Urruti missing out, but he's as safe a pick for 10-12 points as it gets.
4Carlos VelaLAFC v. FCC13.3At home to the expansion side, I'm still putting him in the mix.
5Steve BirnbaumDC v.MTL, at COL8.5With a goal or clean sheet in four of five matches, Birnbaum would have made a really good captain's pick for most two week stretches. This is definitely a play on two clean sheets, and while that's unlikely, it's not the worst differential you could make. It's surely safer than Ruidiaz who would be my 6th ranked captain pick (and top two if not for his recent injury).

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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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