MLSFB Player Roundup – Round 5

Round 4 was full of excitement. There were lots of goals and some BIG points. If you were lucky enough to have one or two of those big point earners, you had a great week! If not, don’t worry there is still plenty of time to earn points and Round 5 is a great one to start with. Sorry for being late with this post, I’ve been slammed with some other projects these past few weeks.

Keepers:

I’m going to move away from my two go to keepers this week and that is because each one has a tough game. Steve Clark (3.2% @ $5.0m), on the other hand, is going up against a weakened Toronto team and has one of the currently top rated defenses in front of him. The other keeper I like this week is Bobby Shuttleworth (1.7% @ $5.0m). I’m not usually one to pick an away team, but since Goncalves has returned, the NE defense has been looking better. DC, on the other had, is just not clicking so far.

As for the big guns, Kronberg is facing Rimando this week, and this just has too much scoring potential for me to feel comfortable with them this round. Hall is going up against a tough Dallas team that has some very hot midfielders. This will be his toughest home game yet.

Defenders:

For anyone who is not keeping score, SEA, HOU, and RSL are all tied for the most clean sheets right now with 2. Of these three teams Houston is the only team that is playing at home, and that is where their 2 clean sheets have come from. Dallas will be tough, but it’s not impossible and you have two good options. Corey Ashe (15.5% @ $7.2m) is still your more attacking option but David Horst (22.6% @ $6.0m) edges his out when it comes to purely defensive generation. Another home defender to keep an eye on is Michael Parkhurst (9.5% @ $7.6m). Columbus has been one of the most surprising teams for me, and Parkhurst has some great numbers at a sub $8.0m price. Toronto is also suffering from several offensive injuries, so Columbus’ chances got better.

As I mentioned above, Goncalves (2.5% @ $9.4m) has helped turn around the NE defense after 2 rough opening games, so he has to get a mention here. His bonus point generation is still fantastic and DC does not offer much attacking threat rght now. He’s the best shots at an away CS but if you are only planning on having one big name defender, he mat not be your guy.

To touch one some of the other games, Chivas at LA…. I mean LA at Chivas? Anyway, LA vs Chivas looks good for LA, but with only two MLS games played and some injuries, it’s hard to know which defenders to go with. Gonzalez is the only sure option, but too pricey for me. SKC and RSL also have some top defenders but this game is too close to call and I think the chance of a 0-0 game is no better than a 1-1 draw.

Midfielders:

After a great performance last week, Graham Zusi (17.6% @ $10.9m) is a guy that many managers will be looking at. Yes, he’s Expensive, but he’s also a point earner, scorer, and worth every million. But remember,  he also has BYE in Round 6 and a tough match against RSL this week. Consider hat before you bring him in. Brad Davis (2.1% @ $108m) has just returned for a nice showing with the USMNT and a week off from MLS. He’ll be going up against a DAL team that has been more impressive that I thought due to the defensive injuries, but Houston is riding some great home form right now and I think Davis will do well. Justin Mapp (1.6% @ $8.5m) was flying under the radar until last week for most people. He is good at providing service as his key pass and cross numbers show. He just needed a target and he has that now. Normally I would favor New York in this game, but since some key players tend to sit when playing on turf, MTL and Mapp have a chance for a good showing.

As for some of the other popular picks. When it comes to Landon Donovan, I think Eternal said it best “Being concerned about his knee is valid. Any comments about being old and/or far are just insulting.” In my opinion, you don’t have to be 100% fit to pass the ball to Keane and vs Chivas is a game I am willing to risk having Donovan for. Diaz is a very popular choice right now and his numbers support that. SKC will be a tough game but DAL has pulled out some magic before. I’m still using the cheaper choice of Castillo. Several have mentioned Dempsey this week because of the Ricketts red card. You never know what’s going to happen with him so I’d find other ways to spend the money. Bradley is really the only big option left at Toronto but I also think you can find better ways to spend that money.

Forwards:

Easy forward choices this week. Federico Higuain (19.8% @ $10.7m) is on form and has a promising game against Toronto. This game has the making of captain material on it. Robbie Keane (15.1% @ $10.7m) has had a week of rest and vs Chivas is basically at home game for LA. Marco Di Vaio (2.2% @ $10.5m) has had a LONG rest and has come back scoring. Perhaps the Mapp + Di Vaio connection could be the new Donovan + Keane? If you’re looking for a budget friendly option, there are not many better than Harrison Shipp right now. He’s on a nice run of form and Philly has not been solid on the road.

The last match I’m going to point out is POR vs SEA. Cascadia games are crazy and it’s hard to tell what will happen, but if you feel lucky, there are a couple of options from each team, but I don’t know if they top the other mentioned above.

These are my picks, if you think there should be more names on this list, please leave a comment or come to r/FantasyMLS and comment on this post. You can also send a message to me on Twitter @MLSFantasyBoss, or join the Live Chat in the sidebar. Keep checking back for more updates through the week for other positions. Good Luck!