If you’d like to review the last two parts of this Preseason series, be sure to checkout my articles about Keepers and Defenders.

Midfielders

When it comes to midfielders, there are many different styles to choose from. There are the attackers like Cahill, service providers like Rosales, defenders like Beckerman, and well rounded players like Zusi. All have their uses for a team, but when it comes to Fantasy value, it’s the attackers that give us the best returns. So number 1, just scratch those defensive midfielders right off your list. They may be very valuable to their teams, but don’t usually have the bonus point generating potential that can make them valuable.

So what should you look for then? You want to target players who generate a good number of Key Passes, provide Assists (usually from those Key Passes) and, of course, can score goals.

Just like with the previous defender article, I’ve broken the midfielders down by price and provided some recommendations from each category.

Returning Players

The $11.00 range has many tempting players but if you plan to have more than 1, you will definitely need to find some value picks to fill other spots. Brad Davis is my favorite player in this range right now. He starts with two promising home games and has had a good preseason. Javier Morales is also a little tempting, but as with other RSL players, I just wish they had a better opening schedule. Still, he is excellent at providing service. Zusi, Donovan, and Cahill all have schedules that I’m not very fond of and while I like Will Johnson, he tends to play more defensively.

The $10.5-$10 range is easy.  Diego Valeri is the best pick by far. As long as he stays the play maker at POR, he’ll be in a great position to provide service, get goals, and is the player who would have benefited most from 2^nd assist points last season. I know many like Dempsey, but he still has to prove himself to me.

The $9.5-$9 range also only has one player that I think is worth looking at. Darlington Nagbe has similar numbers to Will Johnson but costs$1.5m less and plays in an attacking role.  Beckerman and Bernier are both too defensive.

The $8.5-$8.0 range is again where we see things start to open up. Most of the players in this range don’t have the best starting schedules, so they are not high on my list to have in a team for Week 1. But, some worth keeping an eye on are: Le Toux, Fagundez, De Rosario, and Rowe. There would be a few more on my watch list, but there are several cheaper players that I think make better options.

The $7.5-$7.0 range is the lowest I would go to find a regular starter, and a few of these players have a chance to really make an impact this year. Diaz is a player that I have seen on many teams and he is a good choice, but don’t forget to take a look at his teammate Castillo. He comes in at $0.5 less and has had an excellent preseason. Rosales has the ability to provide excellent service and stating with back to back home games could be a chance for a strong opening season.  Finally, Salinas is one to keep an eye on after the SJ schedule clears up from CCL games. He has excellent bonus point generation and has been starting during the preseason. *Edit* I forgot to mention Barnes. He also had an amazing preseason and tends to play in a more forward role. He is a great option if you either can’t afford or don’t want Davis.

New and Slightly Used

Here are some of the new players that are worth adding to your watch list or are just a great price if you are looking for a cheap, likely to start player. Of particular interest are: Pappa, Sam, and McNamara. Philadelphia has several good midfield options but many of them have been sharing time in preseason so I’m not sure who to go with at this point. Also, I’m keeping away from Bradley right now because I’m not sure if he is going to fall back into his usual Defensive Midfielder role yet.

Conclusion

Everything is clear now right? Ha, don’t worry, everyone is in the same boat right now and there will be plenty of opportunities to make adjustments as the season goes on and more data is collected. But if you still just can’t make a decision between a couple of players, here are my favorites.

Brad Davis $11.0m – Davis had a hot and cold 2013 but he’s started 2014 hot very will by racking up 2 Assists and 4 goals during the preseason. HE takes corners, is on set pieces, and has the ability to generate bonus points w/o scoring. The two home games the Houston start with are also very appealing.

Diego Valeri $10.5m – His numbers from 2013 basically speak for themselves. He is a great playmaker for Portland and even though he had a quiet preseason, a favorable starting schedule makes him worth taking a risk on.

Marco Pappa $8.5m – Seattle has a fantastic schedule for the start of this season so finding a good midfielder is very appealing. With Dempsey overpriced and unavailable, other options need to be found. Pappa has been involved with set pieces during this preseason and has looked dangerous on the field (1 goal in the preseason). If you decide to roll the dice on him, be sure to keep an eye on the roster once Dempsey returns.

Fabian Castillo $7.0m – Dallas has needed to do make some adjustments to its midfield during this off season, and with the performance that Castillo has had in preseason (2 Assists and 2 Goals), I don’t see why he would not start. I don’t think you’ll find many other midfielders in this price range that have as much promise.

Lloyd Sam $6.5m – Simply one of the most promising budget picks available. He ended 2013 with a bang and has done very well during preseason (3 Assists and 1 Goal). New York has several quality midfielders, but with 4 preseason starts, I hope Sam has earned a chance. The New York schedule is not ideal, but several of their away games are winnable.

These are my picks, how do they match up with yours? Feel free to join the discussion about this article at /r/FantasyMLS or send a message to me on Twitter to @MLSFantasyBoss.

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