MLSsoccer staff

4. Gyasi Zardes

Pos: F | LA Galaxy | Age: 23

Last Year in 24U24:#7
2014 Stats: Matches played: 27 | Goals: 15 | Assists: 2
Castrol Index (as of 9/24/14): #13

15 goals … and counting. The native of Hawthorne, Calif., has exploded in 2014. Reaping the benefits of playing with Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, he’s scored the most goals by any American in MLS this season (including six game-winners). A USMNT call-up can’t be far behind.

What the technical staffers say: "You used to look at him and see all these fantastic movements, getting by a defender, beating a guy one-v-one, getting in behind the back four, but could he make the assist or score the goal when he needed to? For the longest time, it seemed like he wasn't going to come around, and then this year he has a break-out year. He showed he has the quality, now it's about putting it together on a consistent basis."

What Opta says: Zardes is tied for third overall and leads all American-born players in MLS with 15 goals thus far in 2014.