Bonus Points: Which players have stepped up in MLS Fantasy in recent weeks?

Last week’s 4-4 barn burner between New York City FC and Toronto FC at Yankee Stadium showed off two of the hottest players that are already on everyone’s Fantasy radar: Sebastian Giovinco and David Villa.

What may not be so apparent, though, are the players who had poor starts to the season, but have quietly put together a couple months’ worth of solid results. In order to find these hidden gems, I’ve broken down the players’ scores into two sections: Rounds 1-9 and Rounds 10-19, so that we can see which players have seriously stepped it up over the last couple months:

Top 15 increases in points per 90
(Minimum 180 minutes played during each section)

Kevin Ellis has put on dominating performances recently, notching five clean sheets, two goals, and an assist in his last six matches. Robbie Keane, David Accam, Matias Perez Garcia, and Krisztian Nemeth are all averaging over 7.5 points per 90 minutes played over the last couple months.

A handful of players have entered the limelight after being called upon later in the season. These players have picked up some serious points after playing less than 180 minutes in the first nine rounds:

Top 15 Points per 90 for players inactive Rounds 1-9

Dominic Oduro and Anatole Abang have scored three times in recent weeks for their clubs after not seeing significant minutes in the opening rounds of MLS play. Jason Johnson has been thriving as a super-sub for the Chicago Fire, scoring two goals in the short playing time that he’s been given, including a huge stoppage-time winner against the Seattle Sounders last weekend.

On the flip side of the chart, these are the guys that started out strong, but have significantly dropped in point production. Hopefully, you haven’t had any of these players on your team recently:

Top 15 Decreases in Points per 90

In Round 7, London Woodberry seemed like a steal at $5.0 as a new starter for a team that had kept clean sheets in their previous two matches. Unfortunately, anyone that picked him up and kept him has seen his price drop all the way down to $4.1, and has only scored a total of 11 points in the Revolution’s last 10 matches. Ouch.

Are you looking to bring any of these players in for this week? Did you get hurt by the Woodberry goose-eggs? Let me know in the comments section below, and good luck this week!