MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 11

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Updated on May 8, 2019 9:58AM EST

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 11. 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
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Josef Martinez	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	9.7	He's still shooting, he's back to often scoring, and he has a double game week in front of the home crowd. Barco's absence for the U-20 World Cup is concerning, considering his improved play has been a big part of the 5-Stripes' turnaround, but I think JMart can manage just fine.
2	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at CLB, v. NYC	13.2	Both of Zlatan's opponents this week are capable of keeping him at bay, and extra attention from the officials could be directed his way after some recent occurences. Still, relatively few convincing options exist from the teams playing twice this week, so Zlatan will remain a fixture in most lineups.
3	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	7.8	Sapong's all-around game has helped Chicago more this season than Nikolic, but we're talking fantasy and Niko has more of a nose for goals and shots. He costs 0.2 less too!
4	Gyasi Zardes	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	7.9	He's not scoring, with a goal in just one of six home matches and no goals in six straight games. When he does score, his lack of bonus points is tough to swallow. Over two home games, it's worth a shot, but prepare to be disappointed.
5	Hector Villalba	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	7.4	With Barco gone for a bit, Villalba projects to play more minutes.
6	C.J. Sapong	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	8.0
7	Juan Caicedo	NE at CHI, v. SJ	7.3	With three goals in four starts, Caicedo has been a bright spot for New England this season. The team around him is a mess, and Friedel loves rotation, so I can't rank him much higher in good conscience.
8	Carlos Vela	LAFC at CLB	14.4	You could easily persuade me that one Vela game should slot in above Nikolic, or at least Zardes. Vela's median score this year is right around the range those guys should get with a one-goal week, but their upside is higher.
9	Brian White	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	5.9	Brian White can be a quality MLS starter and he's a good bet for minutes with BWP on the mend.
10	Alberth Elis	HOU at SEA	11.7
11	Maximiliano Urruti	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	6.5	Urruti isn't a lock to start both, or even one, but the potential against Cincinnati is too good to oust him from the top 20.
12	Wayne Rooney	DC v. SKC	10.5
13	Jordan Hamilton	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	6.0	Jozy's return is imminent but they'll use caution and Hamilton is playing well enough to let him get to 95%+.
14	Juan Agudelo	NE at CHI, v. SJ	5.8
15	Orji Okwonkwo	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	5.1
16	Mauro Manotas	HOU at SEA	11.2
17	Sam Johnson	RSL at COL	7.1
18	Jozy Altidore	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	11.6	Jozy is close to a return, likely more for the weekend match than midweek. Even in the most generous terms, the fixtures for Toronto are only decent.
19	Tajon Buchanan	NE at CHI, v. SJ	4.4	Starting minutes aren't guaranteed but he's looked pretty good in his action so far. Incredible value for a bench play, if you need the savings this week.
20	Anthony Jackson-Hamel	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	4.8

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	13.0	In his six MLS starts, Pozuelo has an assist in all but one, has bagged four goals, and has yet to get fewer than three bonus points per game in Fantasy MLS.
2	Jonathan dos Santos	LA at CLB, v. NYC	10.9	JdS is a bonus point machine and I'd probably put him in my lineup even if you guaranteed me he'd have zero goals/assists this week.
3	Carles Gil	NE at CHI, v. SJ	9.7	Gil should be able to break through with some offensive production in one of these two matches and given his relatively high floor otherwise, it makes him a really good play even on a really bad team.
4	Pity Martinez	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	8.0	Barco's absence may be a blessing in disguise for Pity who is use to being the focal point of an attack. His confidence has been on the rise in recent matches, too.
5	Aleksandar Katai	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	9.0	Even more than most good fantasy midfielders, Katai's game is built to thrive against bad teams, or at least bad defenses. He's looked lively lately and it's unlikely he'll be held off the scoresheet in two starts.
6	Jonathan Osorio	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	10.5
7	Nicolas Gaitan	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	8.5	He's clearly still adjusting and while he's not a bad pick this week, I'm not sure we need to be forcing him into our lineups.
8	Julian Gressel	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	9.1	Neither matchup is great and Gressel's bonus points don't match that of many good defensive midfield options this week. Using Gressel is banking on offensive output which is good, but inconsistent given the nature of his position.
9	Daniel Royer	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	8.4
10	Michael Bradley	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	10.1
11	Pedro Santos	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	8.4
12	Saphir Taider	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	9.9	Taider has supposedly been battling through some fatigue/muscle tightness and has hit his roughest patch since joining MLS. There have been no indications that he'll sit a match, but I wouldn't be shocked either. He's typically a bonus point machine and still makes for a reasonable play.
13	Marc Rzatkowski	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	8.2
14	Dax McCarty	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	8.5
15	Omar Browne	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	6.5	Browne should be starting every match and will be soon. If he's in the first eleven on Wednesday I'd bump him a few spots higher.
16	Artur	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	8.1
17	Darlington Nagbe	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	7.9
18	Przemyslaw Frankowski	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	7.4
19	Carlos Uriel Antuna	LA at CLB, v. NYC	6.5
20	Djordje Mihailovic	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	6.4

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Miles Robinson	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	7.8	Home to Toronto, possibly without Jozy, and then hosting an Orlando side that hasn't scored more than one goal in their past four matches is a pretty good double game week.
2	Leandro Gonzalez Pirez	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	8.7
3	Aaron Long	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	7.5	Neither of New York's opponents this week are lighting up the score sheet. With Long's floor of bonus points, I'll take a bet on one clean sheet between the two.
4	Connor Lade	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	5.2	This price is so good for a clean sheet play that can pop up with an assist here or there. Lade is especially appealing from the bench if you're just rolling with the best of the three scores and a 4.0 dud in your lineup.
5	Tim Parker	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	6.3
6	Diego Polenta	LA at CLB, v. NYC	7.7	While neither game projects to be a clean sheet for the Galaxy, they are starting to gel and improve. Polenta stands out most matches and at least bring a floor of solid bonus production.
7	Franco Escobar	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	6.1
8	Johan Kappelhof	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	6.4
9	Michael Parkhurst	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	6.4
10	Diedie Traore	LA at CLB, v. NYC	5.0	Traore has four bonus points in each of his starts with the Galaxy. He'll likely settle in around the 2-2.5 point mark over the season, but add that floor over two matches to his speed and attacking support and you have a pretty great 5.0 bargain.
11	Justin Morrow	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	6.9
12	Chris Mavinga	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	7.6	More likely to play both games than Ciman, I think. Zavaleta will probably work his way into at least one match.
13	Jonathan Mensah	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	7.7
14	Francisco Calvo	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	5.8	Having joined the team so recently, banking on both starts is risky. However, Calvo is quality enough to slot in right away and the second match is against the team that just cast him aside.
15	Rolf Feltscher	LA at CLB, v. NYC	6.5
16	Nick DeLeon	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	7.0
17	Laurent Ciman	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	6.7	Some occasional direct free kick duty helps mitigate concerns of him starting both games.
18	Daniel Lovitz	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	7.3
19	Waylon Francis	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	6.0
20	Auro	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	7.1

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brad Guzan	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	7.8	No defense stands way above the pack this week, but Guzan is the safest of the three teams with double home fixtures.
2	Luis Robles	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	5.9
3	David Ousted	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	6.3	After an impressive clean sheet on the road to LAFC last week, we can't ignore Ousted who only kept an opponent goalless in one of his other nine matches.
4	Zack Steffen	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	7.6	Columbus have kept four clean sheets in eleven matches and the defense is far from the reason for their current losing streak. Steffen's pair of home matches helps him squeak past some others in his cohort, despite two quality opponents.
5	Evan Bush	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	7.2	The Cincinnati matchup, despite being the second of two on the road, is too good to ignore. Montreal know how to play solid defense and it gives them a chance to keep a clean sheet in nearly every match.
6	Quentin Westberg	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	4.8	If he starts both, I'd probably slot him in at #3, but based on some recent comments from coach Greg Vanney, it feels like Bono is due for another chance to regain some confidence during this congested schedule.
7	David Bingham	LA at CLB, v. NYC	7.0	Neither matchup is good, but both opponents have already struggled to score for stretches this year. There are better options.
8	Cody Cropper	NE at CHI, v. SJ	4.3	The matchups may look tempting, but there have been terribly few indications that New England are a MLS quality defense.
9	Przemyslaw Tyton	FCC v. MTL	4.9
10	Daniel Vega	SJ at NE	6.0

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Sean Davis	NYRB v. MTL, at DAL	7.2
2	Federico Higuain	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	7.2	I surprised even myself when I decided to keep Pipa outside my top 20 midfielders, but the production just isn't there and Columbus haven't looked up to the task lately. Factor in his age and the possibility of rotation and I just don't think the limited upside is worth the considerable risk this week. Even one goal or assist won't match the output of a good defensive midfielder over 180 minutes.
3	Marco Delgado	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	6.8
4	Wil Trapp	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	7.4
5	Harry Novillo	MTL at NYRB, at FCC	6.8
6	Jorge Luis Corrales	CHI v. NE, v. MIN	4.9	If Calvo slots into the left back spot, then we can disregard Corrales. If Chicago play a three man backline with Corrales as a wingback, we need to consider him.
7	Sebastian Lletget	LA at CLB, v. NYC	7.6	Joe Corona works too, but Lletget brings some more attacking upside.
8	Cristian Penilla	NE at CHI, v. SJ	6.2
9	Danny Hoesen	SJ at NE	6.4	After Philly dunked on New England for six goals, we should look at a team getting an even more fatigued version of those Revs, right?
10	Robinho	CLB v. LA, v. LAFC	5.8

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR at ATL, v. PHI	13.0	The "front-runners" pick.
2	Josef Martinez	ATL v. TOR, v. ORL	9.7	The player still living in 2018's pick.
3	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at CLB, v. NYC	13.2	The desperate to make up some ground in the standings pick (and official pick of PRO Referees).
4	Jonathan dos Santos	LA at CLB, v. NYC	10.9	The hipster's "Pozuelo Pivot".
5	Carles Gil	NE at CHI, v. SJ	9.7	Brad Friedel's pick.