MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 3

MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 3

This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.

MATCHES (EDT)

Forwards

RankPlayerMatchupPrice

Notes

1Diego RossiLAFC v. LAG, at RSL10.6Unable to fill in many comments this week on short notice - my apologies! Please remember that double game week (DGW) players will only get the point total from their highest scoring game, NOT points from both games as in prior years.
2Alan PulidoSKC at MIN, v. HOU12.0 
3Gustavo BouNE v. PHI, at DCU10.7Gil's long-term injury opens set piece duty back up for Bou.
4Brian RodriguezLAFC v. LAG, at RSL7.9 
5Gyasi ZardesCLB v. CHI, at NYC9.2Goal-dependent players that can score in bunches massively benefit from the new DGW rules. 
6Alberth ElisHOU v. DAL, at SKC9.0 
7Bradley Wright-PhillipsLAFC v. LAG, at RSL6.0 
8Raul RuidiazSEA at POR, at LAG10.4 
9Cristian PavonLAG at LAFC, v. SEA11.3With the new DGW scoring system, picking great players with two tough matchups is less appealing than before. For example, a 6+6 over two tough games is not better than an 8+2 from a 2nd tier player with at least one easy matchup.
10Adam BuksaNE v. PHI, at DCU8.2 
11Jordan MorrisSEA at POR, at LAG10.2 
12Jurgen LocadiaFCC v. DCU, at CHI9.7Will be eager to avenge his howler of a miss in the MLS is Back knockout rounds.
13Franco JaraDAL at HOU, v. COL9.0Dallas have thrown up two duds against Nashville, but I'm not expecting it to last. The bigger knock on Jara is the threat of Ondrasek poaching playing time.
14Robert BericCHI at CLB, v. FCC9.8 
15Mauro ManotasHOU v. DAL, at SKC9.4 
16Carlos VelaLAFC v. LAG, at RSL14.4Having sat out the MLS is back tournament, Vela's playing time seems uncertain at best. It's hard to imagine him not at least subbing on against LAFC's crosstown rival, though.
17Jeremy EbobissePOR v. SEA, at SJ5.9 
18ChicharitoLAG at LAFC, v. SEA9.9 
19HeberNYC at RBNY, v. CLB8.9Deila's attack doesn't feel like one to be trusted, particularly with Maxi Moralez ailing.
20Sergio SantosPHI at NE, v. RBNY7.2He has outshone Kacper by a pretty wide margin this season and is cheaper, but both are fine options.

Midfielders

RankPlayerMatchupPrice

Notes

1Nicolas LodeiroSEA at POR, at LAG12.0 
2NaniORL at INT, v. NSC10.5If Nani keeps his foot on the pedal after a good tournament, he surely should be able to nab one good score out of two matchups against the expansion sides.
3Lucas ZelarayanCLB v. CHI, at NYC9.8 
4Sebastian BlancoPOR v. SEA, at SJ8.9 
5Latif BlessingLAFC v. LAG, at RSL10.6 
6Pity MartinezATL v. NSC, at INT9.3With Frank de Boer ousted, Atlanta plan to open up the attack.
7Eduard AtuestaLAFC v. LAG, at RSL8.9 
8Ezequiel BarcoATL v. NSC, at INT10.5 
9Joao PauloSEA at POR, at LAG10.2Missed MLS is Back due to an injury but showed his quality in the brief opening to the regular season.
10Johnny RussellSKC at MIN, v. HOU7.9 
11Rodolfo PizarroINT v. ORL, v. ATL10.0 
12Mark-Anthony KayeLAFC v. LAG, at RSL7.6 
13Younes NamliCOL v. RSL, at DAL8.6 
14Diego ValeriPOR v. SEA, at SJ11.2Seattle is a tough match, and then the trip to San Jose may be an opportunity for some well-deserved rest.
15Yuya KuboFCC v. DCU, at CHI8.9 
16Alejandro PozueloTOR v. VAN12.0The new scoring rules do make single game players more viable, but I'm always going to lean towards good players getting two chances for a big score. TFC did just dominate Vancouver on Tuesday, though.
17Alvaro MedranCHI at CLB, v. FCC8.6 
18Pablo PiattiTOR v. VAN9.0 
19Hany MukhtarNSC at ATL, at ORL8.2 
20Albert RusnakRSL at COL, v. LAFC9.2Honorable mentions in no particular order to Jamiro Monteiro / Michael Barrios / Gadi Kinda / and the Red Bulls trio of Valot/Kaku/Royer.

Defenders

RankPlayerMatchupPrice

Notes

1RuanORL at INT, v. NSC6.4Anecdotally, I'm thinking that attacking fullbacks benefit more from the new DGW scoring. 
2Reto ZieglerDAL at HOU, v. COL8.0With a goalscorer like Jara coming to town, we may not be able to bank on Ziegler taking penalty kicks any longer. TBD.
3Eddie SeguraLAFC v. LAG, at RSL8.0 
4Jorge Nicolas FigalINT v. ORL, v. ATL5.1Figal-LGP is a center back pairing that nearly every team in MLS history would gladly take. Once Blaise Matuidi is up and running in front of them, I expect we'll be using Miami's defense quite a lot for fantasy.
5Tristan BlackmonLAFC v. LAG, at RSL7.2Blackmon's positional flexibility should help keep him on the field over the oft-rotated Palacios on the other flank.
6Brandon ByeNE v. PHI, at DCU5.8 
7Leandro Gonzalez PirezINT v. ORL, v. ATL6.0 
8Ryan HollingsheadDAL at HOU, v. COL8.0 
9Harrison AffulCLB v. CHI, at NYC7.6 
10Joao MoutinhoORL at INT, v. NSC7.0 
11Milton ValenzuelaCLB v. CHI, at NYC7.5 
12Anton TinnerholmNYC at RBNY, v. CLB5.2 
13Walker ZimmermanNSC at ATL, at ORL8.3Fresh off a big new contract and still, sadly, one of Nashville's biggest goal threats.
14Ronald MatarritaNYC at RBNY, v. CLB7.0 
15Kyle DuncanRBNY v. NYC, at PHI7.0 
16Luis MartinsSKC at MIN, v. HOU7.0 
17Dario ZuparicPOR v. SEA, at SJ6.9Larrys Mabiala would work just as well here.
18Sam VinesCOL v. RSL, at DAL5.5Lalas Abubakar works too, but with the new DGW rules, I'll lean fullback.
19Robin JanssonORL at INT, v. NSC7.0 
20Aaron LongRBNY v. NYC, at PHI6.5 

Goalkeepers

RankPlayerMatchupPrice

Notes

1Pedro GalleseORL at INT, v. NSC6.6Nobody jumps off the page as a must-own keeper this week, but Oscar Pareja isn't going to suddenly let his team play bad defense. Orlando will find success in at least one of these games.
2Jimmy MaurerDAL at HOU, v. COL4.5 
3Stefan FreiSEA at POR, at LAG5.8Best keeper in the league on a team with something to prove?
4Bill HamidDCU at FCC, v. NE6.4 
5Luis RoblesINT v. ORL, v. ATL6.2 
6Andre BlakePHI at NE, v. RBNY6.9 
7Quentin WestbergTOR v. VAN6.2I want to rank him even higher after Tuesday, but going to try and stick to the process of getting two whacks at a good score.
8Eloy RoomCLB v. CHI, at NYC7.5 
9Matt TurnerNE v. PHI, at DCU5.3 
10William YarbroughCOL v. RSL, at DAL5.0Honorable mention to Przemyslaw Tyton who may have the week's best fixtures but is behind a Cincinnatti defense I still can't come to terms with.

Value Rankings

(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)

RankPlayerMatchupPriceNotes
1Gaston GimenezCHI at CLB, v. FCC6.1Plays deeper than Medran, but is not shy in joining the attack.
2Adrien RegattinFCC v. DCU, at CHI6.1 
3Jurgen DammATL v. NSC, at INT7.0What could go wrong with Mexico's version of Brek Shea? (Kidding!)
4Joevin JonesSEA at POR, at LAG4.8 
5Mauricio PereyraORL at INT, v. NSC7.0 
6Tesho AkindeleORL at INT, v. NSC4.9 
7Matias PellegriniINT v. ORL, v. ATL6.9 
8Alexander ButtnerNE v. PHI, at DCU5.0 
9Brenden AaronsonPHI at NE, v. RBNY6.7 
10Chris MuellerORL at INT, v. NSC6.9Hot start, but especially forgettable finishing stretch during MLS is Back.

Captain Rankings

RankPlayerMatchupPrice

Notes

1Diego RossiLAFC v. LAG, at RSL10.6Rossi fileted the Galaxy last month.
2Alan PulidoSKC at MIN, v. HOU12.0Houston can't defend and Minnesota don't have Opara back.
3Nicolas LodeiroSEA at POR, at LAG12.0Nico is a DGW fixture for a reason, but his immaculate consistency isn't quite as immense a draw under the new DGW system.
4NaniORL at INT, v. NSC10.5 
5Gustavo BouNE v. PHI, at DCU10.7 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JD Bazzo
JD is a former RotoWire contributor. He was a finalist for the 2017 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year award. JD had been writing for RotoWire since 2015. He is a proud Pittsburgh native, purveyor of fantasy sports, and likely the first Penn State Basketball fan you've ever met.
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