MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 16

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Updated on June 22, 2019 11:21AM EST

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 16. 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.

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Forwards
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brian Fernandez	POR v. HOU	10.5	Fernandez has already vaulted to the elite group of MLS attackers. He played in US Open Cup on Wednesday but that shouldn't slow him down against a depleted Houston side.
2	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at FCC	11.0	He's on the road and without some key teammates in Antuna and Jonathan dos Santos, but we'd typically be salivating over this matchup. FCC won't have Waston and Zlatan is well-rested, which makes me perfectly content to push my roster a little more top-heavy to fit him in.
3	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI v. RSL	9.0	Unlike most other squads, Chicago are pretty much at full strength (minus Calvo) and they have been averaging over two goals per match at home.
4	Fredy Montero	VAN v. COL	9.0	Yordy Reyna is likely back in full but Lass Bangoura is away at AFCON. That's a good trade for a Marc dos Santos attack that has had quite a lot of time to out-prepare Conor Casey's Rapids.
5	Krisztian Nemeth	SKC at CLB	7.5	The Columbus spine of Gyasi Zardes - Will Trapp - and Jonathan Mensah are all missing for this match and Zack Steffen has played his final match in Columbus. Matt Besler's recent letter to the fans, possible return to the lineup, and overall leadership should boost SKC to a quick re-start and push towards a playoff spot. Nemeth is a great value this week.
6	Kei Kamara	COL at VAN	9.0	I'm almost never playing the Rapids version of Kamara on the road, but he's averaging half a goal per match and this is one of many 'revenge games' on late-career Kei's schedule. He's fine if you somehow have 9.0 laying around for a third forward.
7	Mauro Manotas	HOU at POR	9.5	(Edit: Manotas may miss the match as well) With Elis, Quioto, and probably an injured Memo Rodriguez all missing this match, I am unusually low on Mauro. Portland may be missing two starters in defense, but they played well against the Galaxy midweek and I wouldn't expect them to allow many at home this week.
8	Sam Johnson	RSL at CHI	7.5	RSL's most in-form attacker is absent in Jefferson Savarino, but they still have plenty of bite. Real Salt Lake are the biggest underdogs of the weekend in MLS.
9	Andre Shinyashiki	COL at VAN	4.5	Colorado's kickoff time is positioned nicely so that we can use Shinyashiki as the front or back end of a switcheroo. He's so cheap that many will use him if he starts, and while it's not ideal, it is a pretty risk-free shot to take with your cash-strapped rosters.
10	C.J. Sapong	CHI v. RSL	8.0
11	Jeremy Ebobisse	POR v. HOU	6.0	With Sebastian Blanco missing due to yellow card suspension (MLS Disciplinary Report unsurprisingly still hasn't been updated, but I counted!), and Andy Polo at Copa America, Ebobisse makes for a great third forward play, too.
12	Jordan Hamilton	TOR at DAL	5.0
13	Jesus Ferreira	DAL v. TOR	6.5
14	Fanendo Adi	FCC v. LA	8.0	Cincinnati's first DP has resembled more of a Dusty Paperweight than a Designated Player. This price is way too expensive, even for a player who has a glorious history of scoring against the Galaxy.
15	Dominique Badji	DAL v. TOR	6.5
16	Kekuta Manneh	FCC v. LA	6.0
17	Corey Baird	RSL at CHI	6.5
18	Patrick Mullins	CLB v. SKC	5.5
19	Terrence Boyd	TOR at DAL	5.5
20	Diego Rubio	COL at VAN	6.5

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Diego Valeri	POR v. HOU	10.5	With Blanco suspended for this match, Valeri should regain control of nearly all set pieces. Portland sit dead last in the West, but know that their home-heavy schedule will give them plenty of opportunity to climb back into the picture. That starts with three points this week.
2	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR at DAL	11.5	Many are noting that Toronto won't have Jozy or Bradley, but forgetting Jonathan Osorio who is just as important to their success. Toronto have pieces that can fill in, and Jordan Hamilton is no slouch, but Pozuelo's upside on the road without TFC's stars is somewhat capped. He's still one of the best individual talents in the league and I'm eager to try and squeeze him into my team.
3	Aleksandar Katai	CHI v. RSL	9.0	Katai has fired seven or more shots on goal in a whopping five of his fourteen matches this year. This feels like a match where he can do the same.
4	Johnny Russell	SKC at CLB	9.5	It's shocking to think that the team that looked so electric in CCL action early on has only earned three wins in 15 MLS matches. On the road against a weakened Crew, I think they start to turn it around this week.
5	Nicolas Gaitan	CHI v. RSL	10.0	Gaitan is probably safer than Katai and should be a nice differential play given few will want to pay the extra $1.0 on a tight budget.
6	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC at CLB	9.5
7	Albert Rusnak	RSL at CHI	10.0
8	Paxton Pomykal	DAL v. TOR	9.0	Pomykal is back and ready to impress after a great U-20 World Cup. Toronto will sit deep, giving Pax plenty of chances to accumulate bonus points, but potentially few chances to hit the score sheet.
9	Yordy Reyna	VAN v. COL	8.0	Don't worry about Reyna's recent substitute performance, of the lackluster ones before his injury, since the MLS price change formula will not be factoring them into this season's new price changes.
10	Favio Alvarez	LA at FCC	7.5	One of the best values to kickoff the Fall season.
11	Hwang In-beom	VAN v. COL	7.0	While he's been every bit the quality player we heard about coming into the year, it has not generated much attacking or even bonus-point-accumulating fantasy output.
12	Sebastian Saucedo	RSL at CHI	6.0	As mentioned above, RSL are the week's biggest underdog, but Johnson-Saucedo-Baird-Rusnak is not a front four to write-off.
13	Jack Price	COL at VAN	7.0
14	Tomas Martinez	HOU at POR	8.5
15	Michael Barrios	DAL v. TOR	7.5
16	Pedro Santos	CLB v. SKC	8.5	Without Pipa and Zardes, Santos will be relied on even more heavily. And are present-day Pipa and Zardes THAT big of a loss? Only sort of.
17	Damir Kreilach	RSL at CHI	7.5
18	Przemyslaw Frankowski	CHI v. RSL	8.0
19	Joe Corona	LA at FCC	7.5
20	Memo Rodriguez	HOU at POR	7.0	Questionable/Doubtful due to injury. He sat out US Open Cup and may not be risked in a tough road match with lots of season left to be played.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Reto Ziegler	DAL v. TOR	6.5	Dallas' penalty taker against a team missing three of it's four best players.
2	Ali Adnan	VAN v. COL	6.0	Another great combination of offensive upside and clean sheet potential, but many shrewd managers likely won't be playing two 6.0+ defenders this week.
3	Jorge Moreira	POR v. HOU	5.5	Scored in US Open Cup midweek and should be considered a poor man's version of Adnan who is one spot above.
4	Larrys Mabiala	POR v. HOU	7.0
5	Matt Hedges	DAL v. TOR	6.5
6	Bastian Schweinsteiger	CHI v. RSL	6.0	Position change! Schweini will not be firmly back in the fantasy conversation thanks to his bonus point potential.
7	Graham Zusi	SKC at CLB	6.5
8	Harrison Afful	CLB v. SKC	6.5
9	Ryan Hollingshead	DAL v. TOR	5.5	I think I'd take the 0.5 and go with the cheaper Bressanelli should he start, but Hollingshead is a decent play with some offensive upside.
10	Jorge Villafana	POR v. HOU	5.5
11	Diego Polenta	LA at FCC	6.0	FCC are missing some key players and already were on of the league's worst attacking teams. The Galaxy defense isn't impenetrable, but they're solid plays this week.
12	Matt Besler	SKC at CLB	6.5	His recent open letter to SKC supporters makes me think SKC will be up for this match and that he will return from injury to lead them.
13	Erik Godoy	VAN v. COL	6.0
14	Daniel Steres	LA at FCC	5.0	Are his 1-3 extra potential bonus points worth the 0.5 over talented young fullback Araujo?
15	Johan Kappelhof	CHI v. RSL	6.0
16	Julian Araujo	LA at FCC	4.5	Very tempting if you want multiple pieces of the Galaxy defense.
17	Gaston Sauro	CLB v. SKC	4.5	Many of last season's top finishers rode an early hot start from Sauro. I doubt it happens again, but they've priced him temptingly.
18	Justin Morrow	TOR at DAL	5.5
19	Billel Tuiloma	POR v. HOU	5.5	(Edit: I think he may miss this one, which would put Claude Dielna in the picture)
20	Lalas Abubakar	COL at VAN	5.5

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Steve Clark	POR v. HOU	4.5	Attinella may play this one since Clark started US Open Cup. It had previously seemed like Clark would overtake the starting gig, and that still may be true.
2	Jesse Gonzalez	DAL v. TOR	5.5	#2-4 here are your early switcheroo keepers. If you play Pozuelo, though, maybe it's best to look somewhere other than Gonzalez who is otherwise my favorite of the three.
3	Kenneth Kronholm	CHI v. RSL	5.0
4	David Bingham	LA at FCC	5.5	Tempting but I wouldn't completely count out Cincy at home. Are we going to pay extra for a road keeper to kick off our spring season?
5	Zac MacMath	VAN v. COL	4.5	With Crepeau at the Gold Cup, MacMath will have a chance to play his former team. I like the price. I don't like the fact that Vancouver will be without Derrick Cornelius and Doneil Henry.
6	Tim Melia	SKC at CLB	6.0
7	Jon Kempin	CLB v. SKC	4.5	If you get stuck starting him after your first keeper strikes out, it's not the end of the world. Make sure Kempin is Caleb Porter's choice for keeper once team sheets come out.
8	Quentin Westberg	TOR at DAL	5.5
9	Tim Howard	COL at VAN	5.5
10	Spencer Richey	FCC v. LA	5.0

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Sam Nicholson	COL at VAN	6.0
2	David Accam	CLB v. SKC	6.0	Accam has the highest ceiling from the value rankings guys this week.
3	Jorge Luis Corrales	CHI v. RSL	4.5
4	Lucas Venuto	VAN v. COL	7.0	Probably $1.0 too expensive to consider.
5	Emmanuel Ledesma	FCC v. LA	6.5	Ledesma should get more chances with Kenny Saief leaving the team after his injury/loan. He's not in the top half of MLS playmakers, but he's not bad either.
6	Scott Sutter	VAN v. COL	4.5
7	Kellyn Acosta	COL at VAN	6.5
8	Nick Hagglund	FCC v. LA	5.0	Against a depleted Galaxy, and on turf where Zlatan is not at his most comfortable, FCC could steal a clean sheet.
9	Cristhian Paredes	POR v. HOU	6.5	Underrated as a young up and coming player, but not yet a fantasy force.
10	Tommy Smith	COL at VAN	5.0

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brian Fernandez	POR v. HOU	10.5	By far the best chance at multiple goals on this slate of games.
2	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at FCC	11.0	Zlatan is always in consideration, but will he get enough service in this match to be worth captaining?
3	Diego Valeri	POR v. HOU	10.5	Won't often be ranked ahead of Pozuelo, but I'm pretty confident he's the right choice this week for best midfield play,
4	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR at DAL	11.5
5	Aleksandar Katai	CHI v. RSL	9.0	Some of these 7-8 shot matches will turn into braces, even though it hasn't happened yet.