Reid, Mike and Blayne take a break from all of the World Cup action to sit down and get back to breaking down Round 17 of the MLS Fantasy Season. They start out with a quick review of the few takeaways from the short Round 16 slate of games and try to make sense of both Piatti and D.C. United going forward. After that, they identify their most promising games and top targets for Round 17. Everything kicks off on Saturday, so be sure to take a break from the World Cup to listen to this episode before you set your Round 17 lineup.
With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, Round 17 offers an opportunity to test your knowledge of the league’s rosters and solidify your standings with as we enter the final few weeks of the Spring MLS Fantasy season.
There are 10 matches on the slate this weekend. The New England Revolution, LA Galaxy and D.C. United are the three teams on a bye.
Goalkeepers
Sporting Kansas City didn’t lose anyone to the World Cup, so there’s little reason to look past the league’s top scorer from the goalkeeper position: Tim Melia. If you’re not feeling Melia, Andre Blake and Nick Rimando also make strong selections in Round 17.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Tim Melia |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$9.8 |
2 |
Andre Blake |
PHI |
vs. VAN |
$8.2 |
3 |
Nick Rimando |
RSL |
vs. SJ |
$7.3 |
4 |
Luis Robles |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$6.7 |
5 |
Zack Steffen |
CLB |
at LAFC |
$7.9 |
6 |
Sean Johnson |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$7.0 |
7 |
Joe Bendik |
ORL |
vs. MTL |
$4.3 |
8 |
Brad Guzan |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$6.4 |
9 |
Stefan Frei |
SEA |
vs. CHI |
$7.0 |
10 |
Tyler Miller |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$6.8 |
Defenders
Steven Beitashour | USA Today Sports Images
LAFC’s Steven Beitashour was unlucky not to make Iran’s 23-man roster, but this omission lands him in the top spot of the Round 17 defender rankings. The veteran notched a goal and assist in his last outing. Outside of Beitashour, Sporting KC and New York City FC defenders look to be dependable options.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Steven Beitashour |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$8.1 |
2 |
Graham Zusi |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$12.5 |
3 |
Matt Besler |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$10.5 |
4 |
Alexander Callens |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$8.1 |
5 |
Justen Glad |
RSL |
vs. SJ |
$8.5 |
6 |
Keegan Rosenberry |
PHI |
vs. VAN |
$9.4 |
7 |
Tim Parker |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$7.3 |
8 |
Ike Opara |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$10.1 |
9 |
Anton Tinnerholm |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$6.5 |
10 |
Edgar Castillo |
COL |
vs. MIN |
$6.3 |
11 |
Sebastien Ibeagha |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$5.9 |
12 |
Michael Parkhurst |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$8.2 |
13 |
Kemar Lawrence |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$7.7 |
14 |
Laurent Ciman |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$9.8 |
15 |
Aaron Long |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$8.3 |
16 |
Harrison Afful |
CLB |
at LAFC |
$9.3 |
17 |
Lalas Abubakar |
CLB |
at LAFC |
$11.0 |
18 |
Reggie Cannon |
DAL |
at RBNY |
$8.5 |
19 |
Tommy Smith |
COL |
at MIN |
$5.2 |
20 |
Nick Hagglund |
TOR |
at NYC |
$4.7 |
Midfielders
'Kaku' Gamarra | USA Today Sports Images
Even against a stingy FC Dallas defense, the New York Red Bulls’ Alejandro Romero “Kaku” Gamarra leads the midfielders coming into Round 17. The newly-minted Paraguay international impressed in his first look with his new national team and is a good bet to carry that confidence into MLS play. Outside of Gamarra, the usual suspects (Nicolas Lodeiro, Miguel Almiron, Maxi Moralez) should find places on your roster.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Alejandro Romero Gamarra |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$11.8 |
2 |
Miguel Almiron |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$13.6 |
3 |
Maxi Moralez |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$12.0 |
4 |
Nicolas Lodeiro |
SEA |
vs. CHI |
$12.2 |
5 |
Federico Higuain |
CHI |
vs. COL |
$11.0 |
6 |
Ignacio Piatti |
MTL |
at ORL |
$11.3 |
7 |
Victor Vazquez |
TOR |
at NYC |
$10.2 |
8 |
Aleksandar Katai |
CHI |
at SEA |
$9.5 |
9 |
Jonathan Osorio |
TOR |
at NYC |
$9.2 |
10 |
Daniel Royer |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$7.8 |
11 |
Diego Valeri |
POR |
at ATL |
$11.7 |
12 |
Danny Hoesen |
SJ |
at RSL |
$10.1 |
13 |
Johnny Russell |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$9.4 |
14 |
Tyler Adams |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$6.9 |
15 |
Daniel Salloi |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$10.5 |
16 |
Julian Gressel |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$8.6 |
17 |
Ezequiel Barco |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$8.6 |
18 |
Yordy Reyna |
VAN |
at PHI |
$6.2 |
19 |
Borek Dockal |
PHI |
vs. VAN |
$6.4 |
20 |
Benny Feilhaber |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$9.3 |
21 |
Sebastian Blanco |
POR |
at ATL |
$9.3 |
22 |
Bastian Schweinsteiger |
CHI |
at SEA |
$10.6 |
23 |
Sean Davis |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$8.7 |
24 |
Ilie Sanchez |
SKC |
vs. HOU |
$11.0 |
25 |
Saphir Taider |
MTL |
at ORL |
$9.8 |
26 |
Sacha Kljestan |
ORL |
vs. MTL |
$8.6 |
27 |
Vako |
SJ |
at RSL |
$8.2 |
28 |
Justin Meram |
ORL |
vs. MTL |
$5.5 |
29 |
Josue Colman |
ORL |
vs. MTL |
$6.3 |
30 |
Cristian Roldan |
SEA |
vs. CHI |
$7.5 |
Forwards
Josef Martinez | USA Today Sports Images
Having found the net in each of his past four outings, Josef Martinez remains the most enticing striker in the group. With Atlanta United’s elite players still in town and playing at home, his high-end potential makes him a must-have in Round 17.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Josef Martinez |
ATL |
vs. POR |
$10.7 |
2 |
Bradley Wright-Phillips |
RBNY |
vs. DAL |
$11.3 |
3 |
Sebastian Giovinco |
TOR |
at NYC |
$11.9 |
4 |
David Villa |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$12.2 |
5 |
Adama Diomande |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$7.8 |
6 |
Israel Tajouri-Shradi |
NYC |
vs. TOR |
$8.4 |
7 |
Gyasi Zardes |
CLB |
at LAFC |
$9.6 |
8 |
Dom Dwyer |
ORL |
vs. MTL |
$10.0 |
9 |
Alberth Elis |
HOU |
at SKC |
$10.4 |
10 |
Kei Kamara |
VAN |
at PHI |
$8.2 |
11 |
Maxi Urruti |
DAL |
at RBNY |
$9.8 |
12 |
Romell Quioto |
HOU |
at SKC |
$10.0 |
13 |
Nemanja Nikolic |
CHI |
at SEA |
$5.9 |
14 |
Dominique Badji |
COL |
vs. MIN |
$6.9 |
15 |
Diego Rossi |
LAFC |
vs. CLB |
$9.5 |
16 |
Jefferson Savarino |
RSL |
vs. SJ |
$6.7 |
17 |
Darwin Quintero |
MIN |
at COL |
$9.0 |
18 |
C.J. Sapong |
PHI |
vs. VAN |
$4.9 |
19 |
Will Bruin |
SEA |
vs. CHI |
$7.2 |
20 |
Chris Wondolowski |
SJ |
at RSL |
$6.1 |
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