This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.
The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 15. While they can be used for DFS purposes, they are done with a focus on the league's season-long game.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below, or hit up JD on Twitter @dfsMLS.
Forwards | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Heber Araujo dos Santos | NYC v. FCC | 9.0 | With Kendall Waston and a couple of important midfielders likely to miss this match, NYCFC's attackers are the easiest plays on the board. |
2 | Alexandru Mitrita | NYC v. FCC | 7.6 | Mitrita still strikes me as having some untapped upside, but largely he's a bigger risk of a two or three point outing than Heber. I'd like to use both, but with Maxi Moralez and a defender or keeper looking appealing as well, I'm not sure Mitrita is worth it over some of the following players. |
3 | Carlos Darwin Quintero | MIN at COL | 9.7 | Quintero remains in a serious slump and missing Gregus and Metanire won't help. If you've trusted him this long, then you're probably out of contention for any serious fantasy league! |
4 | Kacper Przybylko | PHI v. NYRB | 6.8 | With an easier matchup, Kacper would jump Quintero. |
5 | Kei Kamara | COL v. MIN | 8.4 | This feels like the type of matchup where Kei pops up with a brace, but I gave up on seriously attempting to predict those from him long ago. |
6 | Chris Wondolowski | SJ v. DAL | 5.0 | |
7 | Maximiliano Urruti | MTL v. SEA | 6.6 | Even Sounders beat writers are unsure who the heck is going to play in this match. Even considering Seattle's strong stable of younger prospects, Urruti should be facing one of his most generous matchups of the season. |
8 | Cristian Espinoza | SJ v. DAL | 8.8 | |
9 | Ismael Tajouri-Shradi | NYC v. FCC | 7.3 | Rumblings are that he'll start at left wingback / left back. That'd be acceptable but not ideal for one of your precious three NYC spots. |
10 | Jordan Hamilton | TOR v. SKC | 4.7 | |
11 | Angelo Rodriguez | MIN at COL | 6.7 | |
12 | Will Bruin | SEA at MTL | 5.2 | Since Bruin moved north, he's mostly been a function of the talent around him and the chances they create. That should be limited Wednesday night and it'll be tough for Bruin to create chances for himself at this stage in his career. |
13 | Anthony Jackson-Hamel | MTL v. SEA | 4.3 | If AJH were the focal point up top, I may prefer him to Urruti. |
14 | Danny Hoesen | SJ v. DAL | 6.1 | |
15 | Valentin Castellanos | NYC v. FCC | 6.1 | This assumes he's a sub. If he starts, top-8 ranking. |
16 | Daniel Salloi | SKC at TOR | 5.1 | |
17 | Brian White | NYRB at PHI | 6.7 | |
18 | Jesus Ferreira | DAL at SJ | 6.2 | Dallas' midfield might be as short-handed as any unit in the league this week. |
19 | Terrence Boyd | TOR v. SKC | 4.0 | |
20 | Andre Shinyashiki | COL v. MIN | 4.1 |
Midfielders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. SKC | 12.4 | Jozy, Bradley, and Osorio are all set to miss the match, but Pozuelo remains a top tier MLS player and should find a way to earn us some points. |
2 | Maximiliano Moralez | NYC v. FCC | 11.6 | With a goal or assist in seven of his past eight matches, Moralez isn't all that far off from last year's brilliant season. |
3 | Saphir Taider | MTL v. SEA | 9.3 | We don't get to see many games where Montreal and Taider own a significant chunk of possession. He should get that this week and thrive. |
4 | Omar Browne | MTL v. SEA | 6.5 | Browne continues to grow into his role with the Impact. He is more boom/bust than some other top ten midfielders but the potential is high this week. |
5 | Felipe Gutierrez | SKC at TOR | 8.9 | |
6 | Jamiro Monteiro | PHI v. NYRB | 9.0 | Monteiro is the largest reason for Philly's success this season and his loan has just been extended through the rest of the year. He's too good for Ligue 2 and is the type of player more MLS teams should be looking for. |
7 | Victor Rodriguez | SEA at MTL | 7.7 | If you're trying to catch up in the final week, fading Montreal defense and placing a bet on VRod would be a potential move. He should be shouldering most of the creative responsibilities in the Sounders attack. |
8 | Alexander Ring | NYC v. FCC | 8.1 | I can't imagine you're skipping Maxi, a forward, and a defender of keeper from NYCFC but Ring would be a good midfield play if we were allowed unlimited NYCFC spots. |
9 | Kaku | NYRB at PHI | 8.1 | |
10 | Daniel Royer | NYRB at PHI | 8.4 | |
11 | Marco Delgado | TOR v. SKC | 7.3 | It's a shame we don't need to find cheap plays this week because Delgado would have be a good one. |
12 | Ilie Sanchez | SKC at TOR | 8.3 | |
13 | Jack Price | COL v. MIN | 7.8 | He's been earning enough bonus points to make up for his small chance of ever scoring goals. |
14 | Haris Medunjanin | PHI v. NYRB | 10.7 | |
15 | Yohan Croizet | SKC at TOR | 5.3 | Against most other opponents, and on weeks where I need some budget bench options, I'd be in. Croizet has filled in admirably, albeit unconventionally, for Nemeth. |
16 | Michael Barrios | DAL at SJ | 8.0 | |
17 | Sam Nicholson | COL v. MIN | 5.5 | |
18 | Vako | SJ v. DAL | 5.3 | Magnus Eriksson is questionable to return from a concussion and would make for a good San Jose midfield play too. |
19 | Brenden Aaronson | PHI v. NYRB | 4.6 | |
20 | Marc Rzatkowski | NYRB at PHI | 8.6 |
Defenders | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Anton Tinnerholm | NYC v. FCC | 8.0 | New York should have plenty of possession giving Tinnerholm a chance to get involved in the attack more than usual. |
2 | Zakaria Diallo | MTL v. SEA | 7.2 | With Ruidiaz, Lodeiro, Roldan and a host of other Sounders missing this match, Diallo and company will only need to stop VRod and Will Bruin. |
3 | Maxime Chanot | NYC v. FCC | 8.6 | Callens is out but Chanot and Sands remain to steady the center of the defense. With Cruz and Mattocks out for FCC's attack, NYCFC should have a relatively easy night. |
4 | Shea Salinas | SJ v. DAL | 6.6 | |
5 | Joevin Jones | SEA at MTL | 5.7 | Both Jones and Tolo could end up in a more attacking role against Montreal. The fact that both could be playing in the front five should give you an indication of their chances of success, though. |
6 | Nouhou Tolo | SEA at MTL | 4.0 | |
7 | Victor Cabrera | MTL v. SEA | 6.0 | Cabrera has some massive bonus point hauls in his fantasy past, but he's likely to play fullback rather than centerback this week, so temper your expectations slightly. |
8 | Florian Jungwirth | SJ v. DAL | 8.7 | A depleted Dallas midfield doesn't automatically write them off, but San Jose's form might make it difficult for them to mount much of an attack. Jungwirth is confidently cleaning up the back line during San Jose's resurgence. |
9 | Jack Elliott | PHI v. NYRB | 8.5 | |
10 | Rudy Camacho | MTL v. SEA | 5.9 | |
11 | Nick DeLeon | TOR v. SKC | 6.2 | He's admittedly gotten too much fantasy pop for just two goals and two clean sheets on the year, but the matchup for TFC is good once again. |
12 | Auston Trusty | PHI v. NYRB | 7.5 | |
13 | Kelvin Leerdam | SEA at MTL | 7.9 | |
14 | Justin Morrow | TOR v. SKC | 5.4 | |
15 | Daniel Kinumbe | MTL v. SEA | 4.0 | Ideally he slots in as a wingback in a 5-man setup. Montreal will be able to attack against a severely depleted Sounders side, so both offensive points and a possible clean sheet are in play. |
16 | Sebastien Ibeagha | NYC v. FCC | 5.6 | |
17 | Graham Zusi | SKC at TOR | 6.6 | The Gold Cup break should really help Zusi and SKC reset. There's not much reason to trot him out this week. |
18 | Kai Wagner | PHI v. NYRB | 7.9 | |
19 | Ryan Hollingshead | DAL at SJ | 7.5 | There's a chance Hollingshead is tasked with playing box-to-box midfielder given Dallas' three midfielders at USA U20s and additional three with senior international team duty. |
20 | Chris Mavinga | TOR v. SKC | 7.5 | Not a lock to return to the lineup, but would be a solid play. |
Goalkeepers | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Brad Stuver | NYC v. FCC | 4.5 | Luis Barraza could steal the start, but all signs point to Stuver filling in for Sean Johnson. |
2 | Evan Bush | MTL v. SEA | 6.9 | Bush is a great play given the Sounders'' absences but it's worth noting Montreal will be far from full strength too. |
3 | Quentin Westberg | TOR v. SKC | 5.3 | 3rd-5th all feel really close, but on the final draft, this is how I ended up feeling. |
4 | Daniel Vega | SJ v. DAL | 5.6 | |
5 | Matt Freese | PHI v. NYRB | 4.0 | This game sure feels like 1-0 either way. |
6 | Stefan Frei | SEA at MTL | 7.9 | |
7 | Tim Howard | COL v. MIN | 5.8 | |
8 | Luis Robles | NYRB at PHI | 7.3 | Three of New York's four starters will be missing, but they'll still be able to roll out Tim Parker, Amro Tarek, and Connor Lade. |
9 | Vito Mannone | MIN at COL | 7.7 | |
10 | Jimmy Maurer | DAL at SJ | 5.0 |
Value Rankings | ||||
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(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above) | ||||
Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Roland Lamah | FCC at NYC | 6.1 | Not much of a need to dig into the value plays this week with so many cheap options in the actual rankings. Lamah is FCC's best chance at creating offense in this match, though. |
2 | Hassani Dotson | MIN at COL | 4.1 | |
3 | John Nelson | DAL at SJ | 4.0 | Perhaps not as much for fantasy, but this kid has been very impressive this season. |
4 | Kellyn Acosta | COL v. MIN | 6.3 | With Gregus and Schuller both out for Minnesota, Acosta will have an easier job in the midfield than usual. |
5 | Sean Davis | NYRB at PHI | 7.0 | |
6 | Tommy Thompson | SJ v. DAL | 5.1 | |
7 | Thomas Roberts | DAL at SJ | 4.0 | Quiet in both starts this year, but also helped Dallas earn a clean sheet with his work in the midfield in both. |
8 | Micheal Azira | MTL v. SEA | 6.1 | |
9 | Paul Marie | SJ v. DAL | 4.0 | |
10 | Shamit Shome | MTL v. SEA | 4.4 |
Captain Rankings | ||||
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Rank | Player | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR v. SKC | 12.4 | Pozuelo's upside combined with insanely safe floor due to racking up bonus points (once had 9 against DC United earlier this year!) just barely pushes him over an in-form Maxi for the top spot. |
2 | Maximiliano Moralez | NYC v. FCC | 11.6 | |
3 | Saphir Taider | MTL v. SEA | 9.3 | He's a little safe for my liking in this final week. I'd rather aim higher, but if you think Seattle will bomb, then giving him the arm band could be shrewd. |
4 | Heber Araujo dos Santos | NYC v. FCC | 9.0 | Expect Heber to be the better play than Mitrita about 60-75% of the time, but I would consider both for the captain's band if you don't want to use Maxi. |
5 | Carlos Darwin Quintero | MIN at COL | 9.7 |