Fantasy: Which players offer the most bang for your buck?

Reid, Mike, Andrew and first time guest Derek get together to review the many high points from Round 16. Water-logged conditions, red cards, dumb luck and get excited about the fantasy potential that several teams have for the next round. Round 17 is a double-game week, so they break it down by each team to help you identify who you want to target before teams lock on Wednesday.

We only have one round left before the MLS Fantasy Midseason MLS Fantasy winner is crowned. The winner earns a trip for two to Chicago to see the MLS All-Stars take on Real Madrid in the 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target in August!

One thing the top fantasy players rely on is being able to build a fantasy team that produces the most points from the limited budget available to each of the managers. Today, we’re going to take a look at which players are earning the most points per fantasy dollar.

I’ve taken the scores from the last eight rounds where the players either played at least 60 minutes or earned at least six points, and only included players that have participated in at least four games based on those criteria.

Goalkeepers

It’s surprising to see a Real Salt Lake player at the top of a list considering their recent woes, but when Nick Rimando ($6.1) has played, he has done well. He has picked up clean sheets in two out of his last four, and saved a penalty against the Seattle Sounders in Round 12. From the double-game week keepers for Round 17, Bobby Shuttleworth ($5.2) may not be a bad option. Minnesota United FC have kept three clean sheets in their last five home matches, and play at home for both of their matches this week.

Defenders

Zarek Valentin ($4.7) has started in the Portland Timbers’ last four matches, and in those starts has earned two clean sheets and an assist. Surprisingly, four players from the Philadelphia Union’s defense made the top 14, so if you’re looking for a cheap single-game week defender to round out your squad, they have a nice matchup at home against D.C. United (7 pm ET; MLS LIVE).

Midfielders

Most players in MLS Fantasy should already be pretty familiar with the top two midfielders on this list, as both guys have been useful as super-cheap options that get a number of minutes for almost no cost. Although Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla ($3.8) Is recovering from an injury, I expect a lot of fantasy managers to include Julian Gressel ($4.3) with his double-game week opportunity. Ibson ($6.7) hasn’t produced any double-digit results, but what he has done is score five or more points in all 10 of the matches that he has played 60 or more minutes in this season. For less than $7 million, that’s incredibly consistent, and a great return for the price.

Note: With only 54 points in his last nine matches, Nicolas Lodeiro ($11.6) is only producing 0.52 PPG/$. I’m expecting that number to change for the better in this double-game week.

Forwards

It’s hard not to like the fact that Raheem Edwards ($3.9) is scoring points as a forward that costs less than $4 million, but his minutes with Toronto FC are too unreliable right now to count on as a starter. It’s going to be difficult for me to not include Nemanja Nikolic ($10.5) this week, even though he only plays one match in a double-game week. It’s impressive that he’s No. 4 on this list despite costing $10.5 million, as both he and David Villa ($11.3) are averaging over nine points per game since Round 9. He and the red-hot Chicago Fire will be at home against an Orlando City SC team (8:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE) that will be coming off a mid-week road-trip to Seattle.

Who do you think is worth every fantasy penny of their transfer cost? Let us know in the comments below!

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