2022 MLS Fantasy Round 18 Positional Rankings

Schuyler Redpath

Heineken Rivalry Week is in full swing, and with 22 teams playing twice, a fantasy points bonanza could be in order.

A pivotal Round 18 of MLS Fantasy kicks off on Tuesday in Texas with Austin FC hosting Houston Dynamo FC (9 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter). Round 18 also marks the final week of the Fantasy Champions League Qualifier #3, so let’s dive right in and take a closer look at the top plays and values at each position.

Teams NOT on a DGW: CLT, LAFC, MTL, NE, POR, RBNY

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Goalkeepers

Andre Blake has kept consecutive clean sheets after shutting out D.C. United in Round 17. He’s tied with Sean Johnson for the most clean sheets in MLS (8), and with Philadelphia Union firing on all cylinders, he’s a sound DGW GK with two games incoming.

Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Andre Blake	PHI	vs. MIA, vs. NE	$10.1
2. William Yarbrough	COL	vs. ORL, vs. LA	$7.5
3. Joe Willis	NSH	vs. SEA, vs. LAFC	$6.8
4. Gabriel Slonina	CHI	vs. TOR, vs. SEA	$7.4
5. Jonathan Bond	LA	vs. SJ, vs. COL	$8.3

Value Goalkeepers

Value Goalkeepers
Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Dayne St. Clair	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$6.6
2. Rocco Rios Novo	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$5.7
3. Drake Callender	MIA	vs. PHI, vs. CLT	$6.2

Defenders

Kai Wagner shined bright in Round 17, notching a hat trick of assists and racking up 18 fantasy points in the process. He created five chances in the Union’s 7-0 thumping of D.C. United, and with two matches on the schedule, he’s once again locked in as an elite option in Round 18.

Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Kai Wagner	PHI	at MIA, vs. NE	$11.3
2. Lalas Abubakar	COL	vs. ORL, vs. LA	$10.3
3. Walker Zimmerman	NSH	vs. SEA, vs. LAFC	$7.1
4. Jack Elliott	PHI	at MIA, vs. NE	$10.4
5. Alan Franco	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$9.0
6. Rafael Czichos	CHI	vs. TOR, vs. SEA	$9.0
7. Jakob Glesnes	PHI	at MIA, vs. NE	$9.8
8. Justen Glad	RSL	at ATL, vs. SKC	$10.9
9. Julian Araujo	LA	vs. SJ, at CLT	$10.3
10. Julian Gressel	DC	vs. CLB, at MIN	$8.6

Value Defenders

Value Defenders
Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Kemar Lawrence	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$5.8
2. Jasper Loeffelsend	RSL	at ATL, vs. SKC	$5.7
3. DJ Taylor	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$5.8

Midfielders

Emanuel Reynoso has been putting up video game-esque numbers over the last several rounds, bagging five goals and adding two assists over the last five matches. He has arguably the most favorable schedule of all DGW midfielders and he’ll be a popular captain pick with a pair of juicy home matchups versus Sporting KC and D.C. United.

Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Emanuel Reynoso	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$11.8
2. Hany Mukhtar	NSH	vs. SEA, vs. LAFC	$13.0
3. Sebastian Driussi	ATX	vs. HOU, at DAL	$11.1
4. Lucas Zelarayan	CLB	at DC, vs. CIN	$10.1
5. Thiago Almada	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$10.1
6. Xherdan Shaqiri	CHI	vs. TOR, vs. SEA	$10.5
7. Jamiro Monteiro	SJ	at LA, vs. HOU	$11.5
8. Marcelino Moreno	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$8.4
9. Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	at NSH, at CHI	$10.9
10. Santiago Rodriguez	NYC	at DAL, at RBNY	$10.0
11. Paul Arriola	DAL	vs. NYC, vs. ATX	$10.4
12. Chris Mueller	CHI	vs. TOR, vs. SEA	$8.2
13. Mauricio Pereyra	ORL	at COL, at ATL	$11.4
14. Jonathan Osorio	TOR	at CHI, at MTL	$9.8
15. Diego Fagundez	ATX	vs. HOU, at DAL	$8.3
16. Robin Lod	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$8.8
17. Randall Leal	NSH	vs. SEA, vs. LAFC	$8.9
18. Mark Delgado	LA	vs. SJ, at COL	$9.5
19. Daniel Gazdag	PHI	at MIA, vs. NE	$9.9
20. Rayan Raveloson	LA	vs. SJ, at COL	$8.4

Value Midfielders

Value Midfielders
Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Bryan Acosta	COL	vs. ORL, vs. LA	$6.1
2. Ethan Finlay	ATX	vs. HOU, at DAL	$5.5
3. Franco Fragapane	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$5.8

Forwards

After firing blanks in Round 17’s 3-0 loss to Austin FC, Josef Martinez is in a good bounce-back spot with attractive home matches against Real Salt Lake and Orlando City SC.

Prior to last week’s goose egg, Martinez scored a goal in three of his last four outings. With Luiz Araujo suspended for the first match of the DGW, we can expect Josef to be leaned on heavily for attacking firepower.

Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$10.0
2. Jesus Ferreira	DAL	vs. NYC, vs. ATX	$9.6
3. Taxi Fountas	DC	vs. CLB, at MIN	$11.3
4. Jefferson Savarino	RSL	at ATL, vs. SKC	$10.4
5. Brenner	CIN	vs. VAN, at CLB	$8.0
6. Chicharito	LA	vs. SJ, at COL	$8.0
7. Diego Rubio	COL	vs. ORL, vs. LA	$10.1
8. Julian Carranza	PHI	at MIA, vs. NE	$8.5
9. Brandon Vazquez	CIN	vs. VAN, at CLB	$9.0
10. Talles Magno	NYC	at DAL, at RBNY	$10.3

Value Forwards

Value Forwards
Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Luis Amarilla	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$6.0
2. Dejan Joveljic	LA	vs. SJ, at COL	$6.4
3. Benji Kikanovic	SJ	at LA, vs. HOU	$4.0

Captain

Captain
Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1. Emanuel Reynoso	MIN	vs. SKC, vs. DC	$11.8
2. Hany Mukhtar	NSH	vs. SEA, vs. LAFC	$13.0
3. Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. RSL, vs. ORL	$10.0

MLS Fantasy Weekly Winner

Congratulations to MLS Fantasy Manager of the Week, Bryon McElwee! The Yellow Soccer Team cashed in on 54 points from a Forward trio of Carlos Vela ©, Taty Castellanos and Julian Carranza. Coach McElwee pockets a $150 MLSstore.com gift card for winning the Week 17 prize.