Summer is here, which for many of us means barbecues, white shorts and beach days. In Major League Soccer, summer means hot temperatures and international absences. The former certainly has an effect on player performance, but the latter has a direct effect on MLS Fantasy. Forty-five MLS players have been named to Gold Cup rosters, so be sure to check your Fantasy roster against that list lest you end up with a buoy in your pants.
No one wants that. If you’ve managed to get to this point with your wildcard still available, congratulations. Now comes to time to decide if it’s best to deploy the wildcard before the Gold Cup or afterward. My personal feeling is that it’s better to hold on until after the Gold Cup. Make your upcoming transfers based off the schedule more than anything.
However, every case is different, and it could be beneficial to go into the tournament with a starting XI you expect to get minutes over the next two months. Then you have the universal wildcard at the end of August to get set up for the rest of the season.
Take, for example, this week’s first patient, Steve Clayton:
Dear MLS Fantasy Doctor:
Past two games week's seen me drop from top 300 to 1,100th, time for the wild card?
So the immediate needs are a replacement for Benny Feilhaber ($10.3) for the week and a replacement for Benoit Cheryou ($8.3). Even if Cheryou can get back fit after missing both matches last week, a road trip to Los Angeles isn’t what the doctor ordered.
Then there are the matchup questions. Do Seattle figure things out at home against D.C. United? Does Charlie Davies ($9.1) find the back of the net against FC Dallas?
Octavio Rivero ($9.2) broke his scoring drought against New England, and you have to like his odds against struggling Colorado. Still, after swapping him in for Davies, we’re left with serious issues in the midfield. Dylan Powers ($7.8) is on a sharp decline, Jose Villarreal ($6.1) hasn’t played serious minutes in a dog’s age, and you’re starting a Montreal midfielder (Lefevre, $5.1) who hasn’t played in three weeks.
You’re going to have to use the wildcard.
So let’s focus on that midfield. San Jose have had a hot two weeks, and Designated Player Matias Perez Garcia ($8.6) was a big part of that and has the Fantasy points to prove it. Yet he’s only selected by 1.1 percent of Fantasy owners. We can transfer him in if we drop Lamar Neagle ($8.8).
How about Tommy McNamara ($6.7), who scored last week for New York City FC and will certainly be called on to do more this month with Mix Diskerud off at the Gold Cup? The transfer fee from Powers would be enough for him, and after two transfers we’ve banked $1.3.
Our next transfer is just too Lletget to quit. The LA Galaxy midfielder ($6.3) is starting to make some serious waves, and taking Cheryou’s spot is a $2 savings. What about transferring out Davies for Mike Grella (ella, ella) who at $6.3 gives you another forward option and $2.8 in bank?
We’re $0.1 away from being able to swap Lefevre for Sebastian Giovinco ($12.3)! Rafael Ramos ($5.2) for Jack Jewsbury ($5.9) will do it, with $0.6 left after bringing in the Toronto FC midfielder. We still need to replace Feilhaber for the week, so if we transfer out Villarreal and bring in Hector Jimenez ($6.0) with an eye to round 20, I think we’ll be okay.
Next week bring Feilhaber back in for Lletget (on a bye) and all should be fine.
Hope this helps!
MLS Fantasy Doctor
