There are only two days left until the first match of the 2015 MLS season, which means you're probably franctically trying to lock in your 18-man roster before Friday's 10 pm ET deadline.
To help you in your quest, I’m going to break down who the most popular players are in each position and price bracket. We’ll also look at how much fantasy managers are spending in each category. All of this data was gathered on March 3, but you can view the most current information by clicking HERE.
Goalkeepers
| Goalkeepers – Percentage of Total Picks by Cost | |||||
| 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 6.0 | Total Cost |
| 18.6% | 5.5% | 23.9% | 34.6% | 17.4% | $10.27 |
| Goalkeepers $5.0m-6.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Bill Hamid | DC | $6.0m | 16.2% |
| Steve Clark | CLB | $5.5m | 15.7% |
| Nick Rimando | RSL | $6.0m | 12.7% |
| Jon Busch | CHI | $5.0m | 12.1% |
Managers are spending slightly more than $10 million on their two goalkeepers, which suggests that most are spending $5.5m or $6m on a starter and $4m on a backup, or picking up two $5m or $5.5m starters.
Hamid and Clark are the two top picks, even though both have a bye in the first three weeks. If you own those guys, be sure to have a backup plan in place!
Outfielders – Ownership Distribution
| Outfielders – Percentage of Total Picks by Cost | ||||||
| Position | $4.0m-5.0m | $5.5m-6.5m | $7.0m-8.0m | $8.5m-9.5 | $10.0m-11.0m | Total Cost |
| DEF | 22.2% | 32.2% | 32.9% | 12.7% | 0.0% | $36.68 |
| MID | 15.4% | 16.6% | 28.1% | 17.2% | 22.7% | $42.53 |
| FWD | 14.4% | 11.5% | 21.3% | 20.5% | 32.3% | $30.17 |
This chart shows that managers are spending about $6m per defender, $7m per midfielder, and $7.5m per forward. Players are shelling out the big money for expensive forwards, with over half of the total forward picks costing $8.5m or more. In contrast, more than half of the defenders are under $7m.
Defenders – Top Picks
| Defenders $5.5m-6.5m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Nick Hagglund | TOR | $6.0m | 21.2% |
| Lovel Palmer | CHI | $6.0m | 21.2% |
| Walker Zimmerman | DAL | $5.5m | 14.2% |
| Marc Burch | COL | $5.5m | 11.7% |
Hagglund and Palmer are the bargain defenders of choice. They are priced at $6m, but only Palmer is a guaranteed starter; he will provide potential for defensive points without breaking your budget.
| Defenders $7.0m-$8.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Dan Gargan | LA | $7.0m | 17.6% |
| Jeff Larentowicz | CHI | $7.5m | 16.2% |
| Brek Shea | ORL | $8.0m | 12.3% |
| AJ DeLaGarza | LA | $7.5m | 8.6% |
Gargan is an affordable way to earn LA Galaxy clean-sheet points. He won’t get a ton of defending bonus points, but he is definitely worth the price. A word of caution, though, he could lose his spot when AJ DeLaGarza is healthy.
| Defenders $8.5m-$9.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Chad Marshall | SEA | $8.5m | 13.3% |
| Omar Gonzalez | LA | $9.0m | 8.8% |
| Bobby Boswell | DC | $9.0m | 7.5% |
| Matt Besler | SKC | $9.0m | 4.7% |
Chad Marshall is the cheapest of the expensive central defenders, and Seattle start with a home match against the injured New England midfield.
Midfielders – Top Picks
| Midfielders $5.5m-7.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Nick DeLeon | DC | $6.5m | 20.7% |
| Tony Tchani | CLB | $7.0m | 14.2% |
| Sam Cronin | COL | $6.0m | 11.0 |
| Diego Fagundez | NE | $7.0m | 9.9% |
There isn’t a ton of value in this range, but Tchani is one of the few guaranteed starters.
| Midfielders $7.5m-$9.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Harry Shipp | CHI | $7.5m | 25.2% |
| Lamar Neagle | SEA | $8.5m | 17.4% |
| Dillon Powers | COL | $7.5m | 8.5% |
| Ethan Finlay | CLB | $8.0m | 8.3% |
The advantage of having Shipp on your roster is that you'll know whether Shipp has a starting spot for Round 1 before the transfer market locks. Check the lineups before the Galaxy-Fire match, and be prepared with a contingency plan if Shipp isn’t one of the starters.
| Midfielders $9.5m-$11.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Clint Dempsey | SEA | $11.0m | 21.4% |
| Kaka | ORL | $11.0m | 20.8% |
| Pedro Morales | VAN | $11.0m | 10.3% |
| Lee Nguyen | NE | $11.0m | 9.3% |
The top picks in the high-end are all $11m players: Dempsey, Kaka, Morales, and Nguyen. I’d be a little worried about Lee Nguyen, though – he’s coming off an injury, and there’s no guarantee he’s going to start on opening day.
Forwards – Top Picks
| Forwards $5.5m-7.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Quincy Amarikwa | CHI | $7.0m | 18.9% |
| Luke Moore | TOR | $6.5m | 7.5% |
| Bryan Rochez | ORL | $7.0m | 7.0% |
| Aaron Schoenfeld | CLB | $5.5m | 6.1% |
Just like the midfielders, we won’t know who the value prospects in this range are until a couple of weeks have passed. Amarikwa leads the bunch with nearly one-in-five ownership. As I mentioned with Shipp, have a backup plan in case there’s a delay in “Quincytime”.
| Forwards $7.5m-$9.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Octavio Rivero | VAN | $8.5m | 6.1% |
| Andrew Wenger | PHI | $7.5m | 5.5% |
| Deshorn Brown | COL | $7.5m | 4.7% |
| Juan Agudelo | NE | $8.5m | 4.6% |
Few owners have elected to grab players in this range, and it’s not surprising, since there aren’t a ton of proven scorers to be found here. But potential? Oh, the potential.
| Forwards $9.5m-$11.0m | |||
| Player | Team | Price | %Own |
| Gyasi Zardes | LA | $9.5m | 30.6% |
| David Villa | NYC | $10.0m | 20.9% |
| Robbie Keane | LA | $11.0m | 20.3% |
| Obafemi Martins | SEA | $11.0m | 16.4% |
Interestingly enough, more people are betting on the value of Zardes at $9.5 than spending the extra $1.5 to pick up 2014 MVP Robbie Keane. Will it pay off?
