During the course of one’s MLS Fantasy practice, I find it is important to identify the key trends out there which can help my weekly patients. This week, I’m going to step back from our usual case of the week to focus on ways to improve our teams week after week.
The ideal MLS Fantasy formation these days is a 3-4-3 or even a 3-5-2. That’s already a shift from the five-defender formation which dominated the early rounds. The game is changing to the point where the midfield is where you want to make your big investments.
<p>Player</p> |
<p>Points</p> |
<p>(points from) Goals</p> |
<p>(pf) Assists</p> |
<p>(pf) Attacking Bonus</p> |
<p>Feilhaber</p> |
<p>67</p> |
<p>10</p> |
<p>15</p> |
<p>16</p> |
<p>Castillo</p> |
<p>59</p> |
<p>20</p> |
<p>15</p> |
<p>4</p> |
<p>Dempsey</p> |
<p>55</p> |
<p>25</p> |
<p>12</p> |
<p>5</p> |
<p>Giovinco</p> |
<p>52</p> |
<p>20</p> |
<p>9</p> |
<p>9</p> |
These are the top four point-getting midfielders in MLS Fantasy right now, and a breakdown of where their points are coming from. Benny Feilhaber has been a distribution machine this season, with enough attacking bonus points to make up for his lower goal total.
For the other top midfielders, it varies. Fabian Castillo is fairly balanced, but also quite efficient with his distribution. Not very many wasted key passes there. Clint Dempsey has the goals you expect from a playmaker, and now that he seems fully recovered from his hamstring injury, is a top add again. Sebastian Giovinco’s points-from-attacking bonus suggests even more points should Toronto get better at finishing.
So who is knocking on the door of the top four, but doesn’t quite have the goals and assists to join those featured in the chart? Stefan Ishizaki ($8.0) of the LA Galaxy leads in the crosses column with 30, good for better than a fifth of his 47-point total. He's managed three assists on the season, and with the likes of Alan Gordon and Omar Gonzalez as targets, there certainly will be more.
Ishizaki is also the current co-leader in Key Passes, as both he and Vancouver’s Pedro Morales ($11.2) have 26. What makes a Morales more attractive is his potential to reach double-digit fantasy points when the goals go in. The pair are tied on assists, but Morales has Ishizaki beat on big chances created 3-0. Price tag and potential make Ishizaki twice as popular with fantasy owners as Morales.
Currently the most popular midfielder with fantasy owners is Chicago’s Harry Shipp. Like Morales, Shipp’s earned a reputation as a goalscorer. However, I’d take Ishizaki over any of the four most popular fantasy midfielders right now. That list includes the currently injured Jose Villarreal, the efficient Ryan Hollingshead, and the soon-to-be-legendary Patrick Doody.
I like the relative consistency of the midfielders who get attacking bonuses over, say, Houston’s Giles Barnes. He is tied at the top of the midfielder goalscoring board with Dempsey, but is also liable to turn in a forward-esque goose-egg performance now and again.
More likely to pique my interest is Colorado’s Dillon Powers ($7.9), who tops the big chances created list as he looks to feed Gabriel Torres (and soon Kevin Doyle, too).
Looking for a good defensive midfielder? Dallas’ Victor Ulloa ($6.5) currently leads midfielders in clearances, blocks and interceptions while ranking third in recoveries. He’s a less expensive option than Dax McCarty or Juninho, but where he drops off is in the attacking bonuses.
There are many diamonds out there to discover if you play around with the various bonus categories. There’s nothing better than getting a big performance from a slightly under-the-radar player. That’s the sort of thing which will have you walking around the office like...
