Last week, I highlighted players that topped the charts in defensive bonuses in Round 1. This week, we turn our attention further up the pitch and look at the guys that set up the goalscorers.
To help distinguish these players, I’ve come up with a fantasy statistic to gauge how much of a player’s value is attributed to setting up goals, and it includes assists, big chances created, key passes and crosses.
In the MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager scoring system, assists (primary and secondary) count for three points, big chances created are one point and getting three of either key passes or crosses adds one bonus point. Factoring in the number of minutes played, we can see who the best creators have been in terms of fantasy points through two weeks of the season:
| Top 20 Creators | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Pts | Price | Ast | BCC | Cross | KP | CP90 |
| Benny Feilhaber | SKC | 16 | 9.2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9.00 |
| Michel | DAL | 11 | 9.2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8.26 |
| Javier Morales | RSL | 19 | 10.7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6.17 |
| Ethan Finlay | CLB | 11 | 8.1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6.14 |
| Waylon Francis | CLB | 13 | 6.6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5.00 |
| Justin Morrow | TOR | 5 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4.89 |
| Rodney Wallace | POR | 9 | 8.5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4.88 |
| Benoit Cheyrou | TOR | 10 | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4.83 |
| Marco Pappa | SEA | 10 | 8.6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 4.68 |
| David Villa | NYC | 14 | 10.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.67 |
| Ryan Hollingshead | DAL | 8 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4.63 |
| Steven Beitashour | VAN | 13 | 7.7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4.50 |
| Sebastian Giovinco | TOR | 8 | 11.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4.37 |
| Stefan Ishizaki | LA | 9 | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4.33 |
| Moises Hernandez | DAL | 12 | 6.6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.33 |
| Jose Villarreal | LA | 15 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4.25 |
| Chris Rolfe | DC | 7 | 8.6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4.18 |
| Obafemi Martins | SEA | 19 | 11.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.17 |
| Pa Modou Kah | VAN | 14 | 6.6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.17 |
| Felipe | NYR | 7 | 8.1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4.08 |
You’d expect midfielders to lead the way in terms of creation, and you’d be right. Benny Feilhaber and Michel have both produced two assists, putting them ahead of the pack for now. Keep in mind that Feilhaber has played 90 more minutes than Michel so far, and FC Dallas’ starting rotation looks like it’s going to be more volatile than Sporting KC’s. Javier Morales has put up an insane number of crosses and key passes, so once he is back in action in Round 4, he’s likely going straight into my roster.
Waylon Francis and Justin Morrow have produced the most from the back line, but like Morales, they’re both on a Round 3 bye. If you want to pick up an attack-minded defender for Round 3, you might check out Steven Beitashour or Moises Hernandez, both of whom have started in each of their respective club's matches.
David Villa has led all forwards in chance creation, notching four key passes to go along with his one assist and one big chance created. Kekuta Manneh, Federico Higuain, Dom Dwyer and Jozy Altidore have all had more than four key passes so far, but none have had an assist to help propel them into the top 20.
