On this week's MLS Fantasy Insider podcast Reid, Jason, Mike and Blayne preview the Opening Weekend Challenge in MLS Fantasy. They make all the picks you need to have a successful first week of MLS Fantasy!
Over the past few days I’ve provided rankings for the top goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed reading the feedback in the comments about other players to include.
Now it’s time to put it all together.
Below is my ranking of the top 50 fantasy players. This was the toughest ranking yet, so I’ve also provided a little explanation about some of my decisions and feedback to some of the past comments.
*All prices in millions
Overall Player Rankings
Player |
Position |
Team |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sebastian-giovinco">Sebastian Giovinco</a> |
FWD |
TOR |
$12 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/nicolas-lodeiro">Nicolas Lodeiro</a> |
MID |
SEA |
$11 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/diego-valeri">Diego Valeri</a> |
MID |
POR |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/ignacio-piatti">Ignacio Piatti</a> |
MID |
MTL |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/mauro-diaz">Mauro Diaz</a> |
MID |
DAL |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/kaka">Kaka</a> |
MID |
ORL |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sacha-kljestan">Sacha Kljestan</a> |
MID |
NY |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/david-villa">David Villa</a> |
FWD |
NYC |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/ola-kamara">Ola Kamara</a> |
FWD |
CLB |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/benny-feilhaber">Benny Feilhaber</a> |
MID |
SKC |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/giovani-dos-santos">Giovani dos Santos</a> |
FWD |
LA |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/bradley-wright-phillips">B. Wright-Phillips</a> |
FWD |
NY |
$10 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jozy-altidore">Jozy Altidore</a> |
FWD |
TOR |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/arturo-alvarez">Arturo Alvarez</a> |
MID |
CHI |
$7.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/lloyd-sam">Lloyd Sam</a> |
MID |
DC |
$8.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/maximiliano-moralez">Maxi Moralez</a> |
MID |
NYC |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/osvaldo-alonso">Osvaldo Alonso</a> |
MID |
SEA |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/kevin-molino">Kevin Molino</a> |
MID |
MIN |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/jack-harrison">Jack Harrison</a> |
MID |
NYC |
$7.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/michael-bradley">Michael Bradley</a> |
MID |
TOR |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/clint-dempsey">Clint Dempsey</a> |
FWD |
SEA |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/cyle-larin">Cyle Larin</a> |
FWD |
ORL |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/patrick-mullins">Patrick Mullins</a> |
FWD |
DC |
$8.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/matteo-mancosu">Matteo Mancosu</a> |
FWD |
MTL |
$8 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/joao-plata">Joao Plata</a> |
FWD |
RSL |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/fanendo-adi">Fanendo Adi</a> |
FWD |
POR |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/nemanja-nikolic">Nemanja Nikolic</a> |
FWD |
CHI |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/dominique-badji">Dominique Badji</a> |
FWD |
COL |
$6.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/patrick-nyarko">Patrick Nyarko</a> |
MID |
DC |
$8 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/ethan-finlay">Ethan Finlay</a> |
MID |
CLB |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sebastian-lletget">Sebastian Lletget</a> |
MID |
LA |
$7.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/michael-barrios">Michael Barrios</a> |
MID |
DAL |
$8 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sebastian-blanco">Sebastian Blanco</a> |
MID |
POR |
$9 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/justin-meram">Justin Meram</a> |
MID |
CLB |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/federico-higuain">Federico Higuain</a> |
MID |
CLB |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/juninho">Juninho</a> |
MID |
CHI |
$7.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/christian-bolanos">Christian Bolanos</a> |
MID |
VAN |
$8.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/kei-kamara">Kei Kamara</a> |
FWD |
NE |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/chris-wondolowski">Chris Wondolowski</a> |
FWD |
SJ |
$8.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/lee-nguyen">Lee Nguyen</a> |
MID |
NE |
$9.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/chris-pontius">Chris Pontius</a> |
MID |
PHI |
$8.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/tim-howard">Tim Howard</a> |
GK |
COL |
$6 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/harrison-afful">Harrison Afful</a> |
DEF |
CLB |
$6 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/walker-zimmerman">Walker Zimmerman</a> |
DEF |
DAL |
$6.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/axel-sjoberg">Axel Sjoberg</a> |
DEF |
COL |
$6.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/justin-morrow">Justin Morrow</a> |
DEF |
TOR |
$6 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/brian-rowe">Brian Rowe</a> |
GK |
LA |
$5.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/ike-opara">Ike Opara</a> |
DEF |
SKC |
$5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/rj-allen">RJ Allen</a> |
DEF |
NYC |
$5.5 |
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/daniel-steres">Daniel Steres</a> |
DEF |
LA |
$6 |
Final Thoughts
Johan Venegas (MIN, $7.5): Minnesota had a great preseason, and Venegas played a large part in that success. He’s playing out of position as a forward and has built a good connection with Molino. It’s likely he could become a top 20 midfielder, but I hesitated to include him because I want to see how his numbers hold up against starting defensive units.
Columbus midfielders: These players were actually a huge headache for me. 2015 was a great year for the Crew, but 2016 left much to be desired. Is 2015 an outlier? Is 2016 a better representation of true expectations? I think the answer is somewhere in between, and that’s why Finlay, Meram and Higuain all fell in the middle of the pack.
Injured players: I went back and forth on whether I should include injured players in the rankings (mostly Diaz and Howard). I settled on yes, because I think many of them will quickly return to their expected fantasy point production.
These are my top players for the 2017 season. Do you agree? Let me know who you would add or remove in the comments below? If you want to get more player selection tips, listen to the most recent episode of the MLS Fantasy Insider podcast at the top of this page.
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