Reminder #1: The cut off time to make roster changes is 15 minutes prior to the scheduled kick off of the first match of the week. This week, that deadline is 7:45 pm ET on Friday, August 3.
Reminder #2: The San Jose Earthquakes, Chivas USA and Vancouver Whitecaps are all without a game in Fantasy Round 23.
Top Player in Round 22: Danny Califf – 14 points
Key Injuries: OUT – A.J. Soares, Brandon Barklage, Jackson, Jámison Olave, Nemanja Vukovic
The Player of the Month and a Save of the Week frontrunner highlight this week’s edition of Fantasy Fixes. To round out the group below you’ll find a new DP, a sleeper pick, as well as a forward featured in the most recent Opta Spotlight column. Once again, you will have to wait on the injury report released later Friday afternoon to be certain of any new injuries. With that said, here are five guys that could log huge points for you in Fantasy Round 23.
Alessandro Nesta, $5.7m, Montreal Impact (Four points, 90 minutes played)
You probably won’t find a player as highly decorated as Nesta for such a great price. Montreal held one of the most potent attacking teams in MLS to just one goal in their last game, and they did a phenomenal job of resting their injured guys and bringing them back at the right time. The Impact chose not to play Nesta little by little until he was match fit. Instead they brought him in at full strength and he looked great. Additionally, Matteo Ferrari and Nelson Rivas are now back from injuries that kept them out for an extended period of time. Montreal are going to be a dangerous team down the stretch.
Eddie Johnson, $9.0m, Seattle Sounders (82 points, 10th among forwards)
Johnson has accounted for exactly one-third of Seattle’s goals this season, and in his last six games, he’s tallied six or more points on four different occasions – hitting double-digit points in two of them. He’s played 232 minutes less than his counterpart at forward, Fredy Montero, and been the more impressive of the two as well – 82 total points compared to just 70 for Fredy. Johnson has logged 90 minutes just nine times this season, but five of them have come within the last six weeks. It’s not my opinion that Johnson has been one of the best offseason pickups, it’s a fact. Check out the latest Opta Spotlight for all the details.
Robbie Keane, $10.4m, LA Galaxy, (93 points, seventh among forwards)
Keane has played in 17 games since his arrival in LA, while going the full 90 minutes in all but one of them. If you put his early season struggles aside, Keane has phenomenal. In his first 12 games he had just one double-digit performance. In his last five games he’s had three, and the points aren’t just coming from goals. Keane has four assists in his last six games, helping him secure Player of the Month honors for July. Get on the Galaxy bandwagon and pick up Landon Donovan or David Beckham if you can’t muster up enough cash for Keane. All of them should be fairly consistent from week to week.
Sean Johnson, $5.9m, Chicago Fire (89 points, 13th among goalkeepers)
With much of the Olympic team debacle resting on the shoulders of Chicago’s young 'keeper, Johnson came into the season not looking like the player everyone expected him to be. People even questioned if his job was in jeopardy with the way Paolo Tornagi was playing early on. But Johnson has been an absolute machine as of late, going the distance in his last 17 games, and recording six or more points in five of seven matches. Chicago sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, just below D.C. United. Helping them is that fact that they have allowed the sixth-lowest goals-against total in all of MLS. The Fire will face Toronto at home this week, where Johnson will look to expand upon his impressive performance against the San Jose Earthquakes last week.
Kwame Watson-Siriboe, $3.9m, Real Salt Lake (17 points, 288 minutes played)
If you were watching the CONCACAF Champions League game on Tuesday, you probably noticed that Jámison Olave was taken off due to a rather serious looking hamstring injury. Salt Lake will travel to Colorado to face a Rapids side that’s scored a goal in two of their last three games at home, and Watson-Siriboe should be in line for starting spot, unless Olave can miraculously rebound by kick off. Depending on the severity of the injury, Kwame could be in line for multiple starts, and at just $3.9m, he’s one of the least expensive players in the game.
The Most
Most added transfer this week: Chris Pontius Most dropped transfer this week: Will Bruin
