MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 17

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Published on June 26, 2019

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 17. 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	Brian Fernandez	POR at MTL, v. DAL	11.0	Fernandez reliably gets open and reliably buries his chances. We'll be using him more often than not during Portland's home-heavy remaining schedule.
2	Wayne Rooney	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	11.0	Fitting in two 11.0 price forwards is not as easy as we're used to, particularly with less value defenders and enticing top-end midfielders. Do everything you can to get Rooney, though, who virtually every actual competitor this season will have on their team.
3	Chris Wondolowski	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	8.0	Two home games, one rivalry match, and eight goals in his past four MLS matches. And you're going to take Manotas or Kacper instead? Nah.
4	Mauro Manotas	HOU at SJ, at NE	9.5	Still without Elis and Quioto for at least the first match this week. I'll pass.
5	Teal Bunbury	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	7.0	US Open Cup star, Teal Bunbury, is legitimately worth a forward spot this week if you want to do something a little off the wall.
6	Carlos Vela	LAFC at COL	12.0	Can't justify the price for a single game week player, but he's probably going to outscore many DGW forwards.
7	Kacper Przybylko	PHI at NE, at NYC	7.0	Quieter now than during his strong debut stretch weeks 8-11, on the road for both of these, and now facing more competition for playing time with the signing of Andrew Wooten. I don't think it's worth the risk.
8	Jesus Ferreira	DAL v. VAN, at POR	7.0	This is a good spot to point out that two $7.0-8.0 forwards instead of Rooney or Fernandez + a $4.0 player could be viable. Put both on the bench and let the best week sub in? I'm probably not doing it, but worth mentioning.
9	Danny Hoesen	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	7.5
10	Fredy Montero	VAN at DAL, at SEA	9.3	Two tough opponents on the road, but one is a former club and he still is the Whitecaps penalty taker. Can't imagine paying this for him on a tight budget given the other roster-building options.
11	Brandon Vazquez	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	5.0	Vazquez has pretty much been named the starting forward, at least for this first match, while Josef Martinez is at Copa America. I suspect lots of people will have him as their third forward and he's a solid player.
12	Dominique Badji	DAL v. VAN, at POR	7.0	I'm not overpaying for Badji after his brace. He still plays on the wing and is a wildly inconsistent finisher.
13	Carlos Darwin Quintero	MIN v. FCC	10.0
14	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at SJ	10.5
15	Tesho Akindele	ORL at DC, at CLB	6.5	Orlando players certainly shouldn't be prioritized this double game week.
16	Maximiliano Urruti	MTL v. POR, at ATL	7.5
17	Sergio Santos	PHI at NE, at NYC	7.0	If he were surely starting both games, he would be ranked as high as #6 for me this week.
18	Juan Caicedo	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	7.5	His biggest role this week may be stealing a start from Bunbury.
19	Terrence Boyd	TOR v. ATL, at DC	5.4
20	Dom Dwyer	ORL at DC, at CLB	8.0

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Diego Valeri	POR at MTL, v. DAL	11.0	We fortunately get to see if Portland heavily rotates for the Wednesday match before making any lineup decisions. Valeri's outburst last week won't be recreated against Dallas, but his home performances make him a near can't miss player to own once you add a few extra points at a minimum away to Montreal.
2	Carles Gil	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	10.5	Gil may not be the shiniest, most exciting toy on the shelf when shopping for our few big ticket players this week, but his well-rounded fantasy game and consistent performances make very appealing. If he was one of the highest scoring midfielders in the spring, I'm pretty sure he can be with Bruce Arena at the helm too.
3	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR v. ATL, at DC	11.0	Pozuelo is still a lock to reach 10+ points on the double game week, and 13-15 is probably the likeliest range. But without an unlimited budget, we have to make choices, and I think there might be better ways to spend this week. On top of two tough matchups, Poz is a candidate to drop in price after a 2-pt substitute appearance to open the fall schedule.
4	Cristian Espinoza	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	8.5	Espinoza is one yellow away from a suspension, but I suspect he will do everything in his power to behave against Houston and be available for the Cali Clasico this week. The reward may well outweigh the risk here.
5	Jamiro Monteiro	PHI at NE, at NYC	9.5	Look at Monteiro's fantasy scores from Week 8 onward and then tell me you HAVE to have both Rooney/Fernandez at forward this week. Maybe it's better to load the midfield?
6	Pity Martinez	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	10.0	With Barco out and Josef Martinez away, Pity will have to shoulder the attacking burden for Atlanta. After missing out on Argentina's Copa America squad and getting some rest, this may be his chance to really make a statement after flashes in the spring.
7	Magnus Eriksson	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	7.5	Eriksson will be a popular alternative to Espinoza since he provides some offensive exposure to a team that is playing well and has two home games.
8	Nani	ORL at DC, at CLB	9.5
9	Saphir Taider	MTL v. POR, at ATL	10.0
10	Sebastian Blanco	POR at MTL, v. DAL	10.0
11	Paxton Pomykal	DAL v. VAN, at POR	9.3	It's been fun to watch Pomykal "level up" on a near weekly basis this year. After the U-20 World Cup, if last week is any indication, he appears to have taken another strong and confident step.
12	Juan Agudelo	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	7.0	Bruce Arena has bumped him back into the midfield and it's been working. He could be worth taking a chance on this week.
13	Luciano Acosta	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	10.0	I've mostly forgotten the Acosta we knew and loved and will let him earn his way back into my lineup, and back to a higher spot in our rankings. I like the two home games but he's having a difficult time breaking down stingy defenses and that's what he should get this week.
14	Julian Gressel	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	9.0
15	Cristian Penilla	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	8.5	There's plenty of upside here, but I'd rather monitor Penilla under Arena for now than jump right back into this rollercoaster.
16	Hwang In-beom	VAN at DAL, at SEA	7.4
17	Diego Fagundez	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	7.0
18	Yordy Reyna	VAN at DAL, at SEA	8.5
19	Haris Medunjanin	PHI at NE, at NYC	9.0
20	Lucas Rodriguez	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	7.0	Often it seems these short mid-season breaks give first year talents like Rodriguez a chance to take a breath after acclimating to the league and really get comfortable. Rodriguez could certainly make a big leap in the latter half of the season.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Leandro Gonzalez Pirez	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	7.0	Atlanta's fixtures are slighty worse than DC's, but their defense is playing better by a good margin.
2	Miles Robinson	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	6.5	Probably worth the 0.5 savings if you can only take one Atlanta CB.
3	Steve Birnbaum	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	6.5
4	Frederic Brillant	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	6.5	Brillant is one yellow away from a game's rest, but otherwise a good selection this week.
5	Joseph Mora	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	6.0
6	Leonardo Jara	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	6.0
7	Reto Ziegler	DAL v. VAN, at POR	7.0	Both of these opponents are susceptible to giving up penalty kicks, which Ziegler will take. He also has a solid chance at a clean sheet against Vancouver.
8	Larrys Mabiala	POR at MTL, v. DAL	7.5
9	Florian Jungwirth	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	6.0	Nursing an injury, but with some other absences, San Jose will look to him to steady the back line.
10	Michael Parkhurst	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	5.5
11	Jorge Moreira	POR at MTL, v. DAL	6.0
12	Andrew Farrell	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	5.5	One of the few sure things along the New England back line, but that "sure thing" is like 4 pts a match.
13	Tommy Thompson	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	5.5	Seems to have locked down a starting spot for at least these two matches. A midfielder/winger for much of his career, Thompson brings a little extra offensive potential from the wingback spotl.
14	Jalil Anibaba	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	5.5
15	Matheus Bressanelli	DAL v. VAN, at POR	5.5	Playing well enough that there's now a chance he could replace Reggie Cannon permanently. The sure price rise is a nice bonus, too. Seems like most of the fantasy community will be rostering him.
16	Ryan Hollingshead	DAL v. VAN, at POR	6.0
17	Ruan	ORL at DC, at CLB	6.0
18	Guram Kashia	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	4.5	With Harold Cummings still playing with Panama and Florian Jungwirth not a lock for both games due to a groin injury, both Kashia and Francois Affolter could see two starts for the Quakes. If I have to guess, I think Kashia plays both.
19	Auston Trusty	PHI at NE, at NYC	6.5
20	Ali Adnan	VAN at DAL, at SEA	6.1	If his loan from Udinese isn't extended, this may be the last week you can use Vancouver's talented left back.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brad Guzan	ATL at TOR, v. MTL	6.0	A fraction of Hamid's talent, but behind a better defense. There aren't many attacks you'd rather face than hampered Toronto and Montreal right now.
2	Bill Hamid	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	6.0	Neck and neck with Guzan for the top spot, honestly.
3	Daniel Vega	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	5.0	I'll have a tough time squeezing a second keeper in, but if Hamid or Guzan flop in their first match, Vega is a good option to sub into your starting lineup.
4	Jesse Gonzalez	DAL v. VAN, at POR	6.0
5	Steve Clark	POR at MTL, v. DAL	5.0	Wednesday might be an opportune time to get Attinella minutes if Portland rotates heavily.
6	Brad Knighton	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	4.5	Knighton-Vega would be the same price as Guzan/Hamid + $4.0. I'm not sold, though.
7	Evan Bush	MTL v. POR, at ATL	5.5
8	Quentin Westberg	PHI at NE, at NYC	5.6
9	Brian Rowe	ORL at DC, at CLB	5.0
10	Carlos Miguel Coronel	PHI at NE, at NYC	4.5	Replace with Matt Freese if my 50/50 guess at who starts the first match is wrong.

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Marcos Lopez	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	4.5	Lopez has had his ups and downs this year, but San Jose is an appealing team to pick from this week and this could be a way to get a cheap clean sheet if any early bench defenders on Wednesday don't work out.
2	Chris Mueller	ORL at DC, at CLB	6.5	Even though he's played 85+ minutes each of the last three MLS matches, I can't trust James O'Connor to get him on the field consistently. He's a fine 5th midfielder if you see him in the starting lineup Wednesday and want to take a chance.
3	Vako	SJ v. HOU, v. LA	6.5	Same situation as Mueller, different team.
4	Julio Cascante	POR at MTL, v. DAL	5.0	Should rise in price thanks to last week's clean sheet. Portland have vastly improved their defensive game as the season has progressed.
5	Jeremy Ebobisse	POR at MTL, v. DAL	6.5
6	Lamine Sane	ORL at DC, at CLB	5.5
7	Omar Browne	MTL v. POR, at ATL	6.5	If Portland roll out a weak lineup on Wednesday, I might consider Browne.
8	Marco Delgado	TOR v. ATL, at DC	6.8
9	Fafa Picault	PHI at NE, at NYC	7.0
10	Jordan Hamilton	TOR v. ATL, at DC	4.7	Should be starting over Terrence Boyd in Jozy Altidore's absence.

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Brian Fernandez	POR at MTL, v. DAL	11.0	Portland rotation is concerning, but if it happens with the stars, it will be Wednesday and we will know before lineups lock. Outside of Carlos Vela, there may be no forward I'd rather have for two starts in the entire league than Fernandez.
2	Wayne Rooney	DC v. ORL, v. TOR	11.0	Since his combined six goals and assists across his third and fourth games of this season, Rooney hasn't had his name show up twice on a MLS match scoresheet.
3	Diego Valeri	POR at MTL, v. DAL	11.0	Blanco's return may hamper Valeri's ceiling, but only slightly.
4	Carles Gil	NE v. PHI, v. HOU	10.5	Gil's bonus point generation makes him a safe captain option. He should still take penalties and generate some assists for a Revs team that has looked rejuvenated under Bruce Arena.
5	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR v. ATL, at DC	11.0	Toronto will still be missing key figures to the Gold Cup, and I'd prefer my Captain this week to have more surrounding support and better matchups.