MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 18

Written by

Published on July 3, 2019

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 18. 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	Carlos Vela	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	11.5	A match at Sporting Kansas City used to be one of the places you'd think about fading fantasy stars, but the times are a changin'. Vela has two favorable matchups this week.
2	Carlos Darwin Quintero	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	10.5	It's a week where a lot of forwards could claim this second spot but nobody definitively stands out. Minnesota is playing well around Quintero, and he's showing some signs of getting back in form.
3	Alberth Elis	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	10.5	New York are missing key defensive players to the Gold Cup and FC Cincinnati just got gauged for seven goals. Elis is likely still trying to impress a potential summer buyer, too.
4	Josef Martinez	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	11.0	A goal-dependent Martinez is a little tougher to stomach in this massive early double game week, but I think he's a good play if you can pay up.
5	Diego Rossi	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	10.0
6	Alexandru Mitrita	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	8.6
7	Valentin Castellanos	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	7.5	In two matches filling in for Heber, Taty has a pair of goals, and assist, a drawn penalty, eight shots, and has drawn seven fouls. Both opponents are solid, but with the games at Yankee Stadium and our rosters needing some cheaper impact players, this may be too good a price to pass up.
8	Chris Wondolowski	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	7.6
9	Mauro Manotas	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	9.0	Whether his rest over the past several matches is due to injury or a rumored transfer to Liga MX, Manotas would certainly be an option if he starts on Wednesday night.
10	Kacper Przybylko	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	7.5	I've been worried about some rotation with Kacper, but he's fended it off thus far. Orlando have improved defensively, but Sane/Jansson are beatable and Philly have the diverse attacking talent to find the weaknesses.
11	Angelo Rodriguez	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	8.5
12	C.J. Sapong	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	7.1
13	Adama Diomande	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	8.0	Betting on Dio or Christian Ramirez to start back to back games is never a sure thing, but getting an LAFC forward for $8.0 sure would be nice.
14	Tesho Akindele	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	6.7
15	Sam Johnson	RSL v. CLB, at SJ	7.6
16	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI v. ATL, at SKC	8.3	He reportedly is leaving Chicago after this season and isn't playing full 90 minute games. He's the better player, but I think we need to trust Sapong more here.
17	Romell Quioto	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	7.0
18	Dom Dwyer	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	8.0	Seemingly healthy following a month long injury absence, and having welcomed a second child to the Dwyer family last week, Dwyer has some feathers in his narrative cap. I wouldn't expect him to start twice, though.
19	Justin Dhillon	SEA at NYC, at CLB	5.0	Ruidiaz remains in Copa America and Bruin is injured, which leaves Dhillon (a faster version of Will Bruin?) and 17-year old Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez to man the forward spot for Seattle. Dhillon could definitely start both.
20	Christian Ramirez	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	7.5

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Maximiliano Moralez	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	11.5	Chara v Maxi will be a fun one to watch on Sunday. Moralez will get his on Wednesday, though, against a Seattle team missing attackers and Cristian Roldan in the midfield.
2	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	11.0	Can you approximate Atuesta's production with cheaper midfielders this week? You may need to try with $11.0 being a huge price tag for someone with only one goal this year. His consistent high floor is awesome, but more of a luxury once we build out budget.
3	Jamiro Monteiro	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	9.8	Philadelphia's midfield should have it's way with Orlando. Monteiro remains one of my favorite fantasy midfielders and a good solution to the above-mentioned Atuesta conundrum.
4	Latif Blessing	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	10.0
5	Albert Rusnak	RSL v. CLB, at SJ	10.1	RSL are sitting just one spot outside of the playoffs, may sell Savarino this summer, and aren't nearly the likeliest side to spend on a big summer transfer. With Portland, SKC, and a surging Colorado all threats to pass them, they can't afford to slip up. Rusnak should be leaned on heavily this week.
6	Nani	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	10.0
7	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	9.8	With two home games and the team needing to dig themselves out of a last place Western Conference spot, Guti is another good all-around alternative to Atuesta this week.
8	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA at NYC, at CLB	11.0	It's ok to be weary of a player with two on the road days after wrapping up Copa America action. While leaving Lodeiro out of a DGW historically has a tragic ending, there's really no need to force him in this week.
9	Aleksandar Katai	CHI v. ATL, at SKC	9.4
10	Ismael Tajouri-Shradi	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	7.6	Another cheap way into what should be a good NYC attack this week.
11	Cristian Espinoza	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	8.6
12	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	10.0
13	Pity Martinez	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	9.8
14	Magnus Eriksson	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	8.0	Eriksson is mildly more likely to play two matches than Vako. The only person that really can replace him in the #10 role is...well, Vako who will likely cede a game to Salinas on the wing.
15	Nicolas Gaitan	CHI v. ATL, at SKC	9.1
16	Alexander Ring	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	7.9
17	Kaku	NYRB at HOU, at ATL	9.3	With a run of good performances, I'm ready to trust Kaku a bit more at home. On the road to two good teams? Pass.
18	Daniel Royer	NYRB at HOU, at ATL	8.5
19	Jan Gregus	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	9.0
20	Julian Gressel	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	9.0

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Tommy Thompson	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	6.0	In addition to just being a flat out great two-way threat, Thompson is sure to rise the full $0.5 in price this week.
2	Anton Tinnerholm	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	6.3
3	Eddie Segura	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	6.1	LAFC haven't been keeping as many clean sheets lately, and Zimmerman being away at the Gold Cup doesn't help, but they remain one of the league's best teams and could get one in either game this week.
4	Steven Beitashour	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	6.3
5	Leandro Gonzalez Pirez	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	7.4	Fantasy players have short memories, and two games conceding a goal may make everyone forget how dominant Atlanta was defensively at the end of the Spring fantasy season.
6	Maxime Chanot	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	6.8
7	Miles Robinson	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	6.7
8	Jack Elliott	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	6.6	After giving up four goals in New York, there's always the risk that Mark Mackenzie gets a start for Elliott or Trusty.
9	Auston Trusty	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	6.0
10	Florian Jungwirth	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	6.5	Kashia, not Jungwirth, would be the centerback that suffers with Harold Cummings returning from Gold Cup. Flo has been a big part of San Jose's turnaround.
11	Ike Opara	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	7.0	I'll let other people chase the goals (Ike scored two last week) when the cost is $7.0.
12	Jordan Harvey	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	6.1
13	Franco Escobar	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	6.4
14	Hassani Dotson	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	5.0	Two goals in three games is nice, but I'd feel more comfortable if he picked up some occasional bonus points.
15	Kai Wagner	PHI at ORL, v. ORL	5.6
16	Justen Glad	RSL v. CLB, at SJ	6.1
17	Ruan	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	5.8	On the cheap side of these defender rankings, improving defense, and brings some offense as well. If Philly rotates in the first match of this home-and-home series, consider me relatively interested in Ruan.
18	Kelvin Leerdam	SEA at NYC, at CLB	6.5
19	Maynor Figueroa	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	5.5
20	Joevin Jones	SEA at NYC, at CLB	6.5	If he had two guaranteed starts he'd fly up my rankings.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Pablo Sisniega	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	4.1	It's a good bet Tyler Miller isn't back in time for the second match and that'd leave us with a very cheap option behind one of the league's best defenses (Note: Walker Zimmerman also is absent for LAFC).
2	Brad Stuver	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	4.4	Sean Johnson likely won't return until next week, too. Stuver's games are both at home and Seattle are shorthanded in attack.
3	Joe Willis	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	5.5	FCC have scored just three goals in their past six home games.
4	Brad Guzan	ATL at CHI, v. NYRB	5.6
5	Nick Rimando	RSL v. CLB, at SJ	5.7
6	Daniel Vega	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	5.5	Two very winnable games for the league's hottest team.
7	Tim Melia	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	6.8
8	Jon Kempin	CLB at RSL, v. SEA	4.4	Both opponents will be missing their starting strikers, with Zardes at Gold Cup and Ruidiaz still at Copa America. Be wary of keeper rotation here.
9	Vito Mannone	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	5.6
10	Stefan Frei	SEA at NYC, at CLB	6.5	Both Frei and Luis Robles are much more used to being near the top of the rankings, but only one can squeeze in on a week where they play two away fixtures. NYRB are without Parker and Aaron Long in the defense while Frei gets new DP Defender Xavier Arreaga back from Copa America.

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Vako	SJ at MIN, v. RSL	7.0	There's a significant enough rotation risk here that I've ripped him from the top 20 and put him down here so you'll know the risk you're taking. It's likely an unnecessary risk.
2	Ilie Sanchez	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	7.4	A safe source of points with upside as the penalty kick taker for SKC.
3	Nicolas Hasler	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	4.0	Zusi is due back soon, but there's no reason to rush him back considering his 2019 performances. Hasler is a minimum price, double home game defender with some offense to his game.
4	Jhegson Mendez	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	7.0	If you want 9-10 safe points from a fifth midfielder, Mendez is your guy. Limited goal upside, unfortunately.
5	Yohan Croizet	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	5.2	With Nemeth in the dog house, Croizet is the next man up to fill the center forward role. SKC are one of only two teams with two home matches this week.
6	Daniel Salloi	SKC v. LAFC, v. CHI	6.2	He led SKC in goals last year and should continue to get chances to regain that form while Russell is out and Nemeth is struggling.
7	Przemyslaw Frankowski	CHI v. ATL, at SKC	7.1
8	Hector Jimenez	CLB at RSL, v. SEA	4.6	Jimenez has popped up with some quality performances lately. Still, it's not really enough to make him appealing for fantasy unless you're desperate for a cheap bench.
9	Chris Mueller	ORL v. PHI, at PHI	6.9
10	Brian White	NYRB at HOU, at ATL	6.4	BWP is back and ready to poach 20-30 minutes until he's fully fit. White already wasn't a very appealing fantasy play, but he's still cheap and should get 100+ minutes.

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	11.5	LA do have some upcoming fixture congestion, but I doubt Vela rests just yet. He remains a premier captain choice.
2	Maximiliano Moralez	NYC v. SEA, v. POR	11.5	All else equal, I'm not sure any fantasy play has pushed Vela this hard for #1 captain ranking all season.
3	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC at SKC, v. VAN	11.0	As safe a selection as you'll find, but a clear step down from the top two in terms of upside.
4	Carlos Darwin Quintero	MIN v. SJ, at MTL	10.5	The demolition of FCC shouldn't alone convince you he's back, but Quintero had a nice recent US Open Cup match as well.
5	Alberth Elis	HOU v. NYRB, at FCC	10.5	Elis should have very favorable matchups in both of these games. If Gold Cup hasn't worn him down too much, he should jump back into MLS action with a bang.