Fantasy MLS 2015 Round 10 Review (Part 2)

DC United 1 vs. Sporting Kansas City 1

Highlights

DC United managed a mere 2 shots on goal without Espindola, despite controlling 55% of possession. Sporting Kansas City’s goal came through Dom Dwyer on a great finish that surely boosted the goal scorer’s confidence. Feilhaber probably had one of his worst games all season, but still managed 4 points. The 1-1 result leaves DC United without a focal point for their attack again, and Sporting Kansas City without the potent attack they’re trying so hard to develop.

Fantasy Standouts

• Dom Dwyer ($10.6): Everyone knows from last season that Dom can be a prolific scorer, but we’re all just waiting for it to happen right now. If the goal this weekend is an indicator of things to come then Dom may be on the rise.

Fantasy Letdowns

• DC United: This is unfortunate, but literally every player looked sub par. With a DGW coming up it’s hard to tell where to look for a good DGW player. You’ll probably just have to look to the week before and hope the form from prior weeks carries over and skips this weekend’s DC United game.

Vancouver Whitecaps 3 vs. Philadelphia Union 0

Highlights

The Pedro Morales bandwagon is real and the Philadelphia Union charity fundraiser is underway. Seriously the Union are an absolute mess and did everything they could to reinforce that image this weekend. Darren Mattocks absolutely embarrassed the Union’s DP Edu and the Union managed 2 shots on goal.

Fantasy Standouts

• Pedro Morales ($11.4): A goal, an assist, a defending bonus, 2 attacking bonuses and a clean sheet. Regardless of the number it adds up to, it means he’s good and will score you fantasy points. With a DGW coming up in a couple weeks it’s worth considering adding him before his price rises more.
• Octavio Rivero ($9.0): If you had him early on and dropped him, pick him back up. He will continue to score goals, especially with Porales’ form.

Fantasy Letdowns

• Philadelphia Union: there’s nothing to be said here.

Columbus Crew 3 vs. Seattle Sounders 2

Highlights

This was definitely the game of the weekend. Dempsey had 2 goals and Kamara had 2 goals. As a Sounders fan the result hurts, but the Crew are good even if their jersey’s pale in comparison to the slick rave green. Anyways I’m not trying to make too many Columbus Crew enemies, so let’s talk about who you need to pick up from theses two teams.

Fantasy Standouts

• Kei Kamara ($8.8): At this price Kamara is an absolute steal. He is definitely the focal point of the Crew attack and is scoring more than plenty of $10+ mill options. However, forwards are always tricky in MLS Fantasy, because if they don’t score a goal they often put up points. Take Kamara knowing he can go cold and you may have to persevere a game here and there.
• Columbus Crew Offense: The Sounders may have been soft on defense, but Higuain, Meram and Finlay all looked dangerous and had at least 3 shots. Even if Meram and Finlay aren’t getting goals they’re still very much apart of the attack.
• Clint Dempsey ($11.8): Clint Dempsey does what Clint Dempsey wants, which is usually score goals. He did it again this week and will do it again next week.

Fantasy Letdowns

• Obafemi Martins ($11.6): The issue with Martins and Dempsey is that if one scores the other doesn’t, which happens a lot. One game may be Dempsey, one may be Martins and then one may be both. Because of this it can be risky to pick up on without the other like we saw this weekend. That being said Martins is still the most exciting player to watch in MLS so don’t give up on him just yet.
• Sounders Defense: The Crew were very good this weekend, but the Sounders were also not very good on defense. The Sounders had 55% of possession, but allowed 24 shots and 13 on goal. That’s just way too many and if that continues the Sounders defense cannot be relied upon in fantasy.

FC Dallas 2 vs. LA Galaxy 1

Highlights

Bruce Arena made it known he was displeased with the result. LA should’ve done better and he was right. FC Dallas were missing both center backs and LA only managed a measly 3 shots on goal. Keane’s absence can’t be an excuse forever, especially with attacking talent like Zardes, Gordon and Jamieson. While absences were one part of the story, Diaz’s return to form and health was the more important one for FC Dallas and MLS Fantasy players. He assisted on both goals and looked good throughout, so it will be interesting to see what FC Dallas has in store for their fans the next couple weeks.

Fantasy Standouts

• Mauro Diaz ($9.5): The past 3 weeks saw score of 8, 13 and 11 for Diaz. Those numbers are hard to argue with. Diaz is only owned by 1.5% of owners making him a no brainer for a differential pick if you’re interest in climbing the ranks.

Fantasy Letdowns

• Fabian Castillo ($10.2): Fabian Castillo has turned into a hot and cold player the past couple weeks getting 4 points then 13 then 3, so if you can handle the occasional duds, then hang on to him. However, if that’s too much for you Diaz may be a better pick up.
• Bradford Jamieson ($5.6): It was unfortunate that Jamieson started on the bench, because LA really seemed to be missing that offensive spark. Regardless he ended up with only 3 points, but luckily he’s cheap enough that you can stash him on the bench if you want.

Toronto FC 1 vs. Houston Dynamo 2

Highlights

Toronto FC embarrassed themselves in front of the home crowd for this hyped up game after a long road trip. The 2-1 score line doesn’t display the lack of effort Toronto were putting into the first 60 minutes of the game. Toronto FC had 22 shots, but only 4 were on goal. The story for most of the game was poor passing, mishits and a complacency to sit back and let Houston pour it on.

Fantasy Standouts

• Jozy Altidore ($9.9): Jozy had 5 shots today and 1 goal. If someone is going to score it’s probably going to be Jozy, but the team needs to play the way they did in the last 10 minutes for all 90 for Jozy to really have a great fantasy week.
• Sebastian Giovinco ($11.6): I could’ve put him in the Letdowns given all the hype he’s been getting, but the fact of the matter is he got 2 attacking bonus points even with a largely unmotivated Toronto team. He’ll face a test against New England next week, but they’ve shown they can give up goals. Don’t bail on Gio just yet.
• Giles Barnes ($9.3): Barnes midweek PK miss really hurt. He didn’t get 5 points for a goal, got -2 for a miss, and didn’t take the PK against Toronto losing 12 points in total, which for many of us would’ve been 24 points. That sounds a lot like a Letdown I know, but after watching the game today against Toronto I wasn’t let down. Barnes was an absolute menace and seemed inspired by the captain’s armband. He was unlucky not to have a goal of his own, but more will come.

Fantasy Letdowns

• Houston Defense: They couldn’t manage a clean sheet in both games against offense’s that were sub par. Ya they were getting bonus points, but Houston’s defense is not one to load up on or if you were considering keeping them after the DGW, consider switching to a guy like Sean Franklin or Bill Hamid.

New York Red Bulls 2 vs. New York City FC 1

Highlights

This game rivals the Columbus vs. Seattle game for game of the weekend purely because of the name value. The prospect of a New York Derby is so enticing and to an extent the game delivered. BWP put in 2 goals and David Villa didn’t even go 90 let alone score a goal. That was the main story line despite the 2-1 score line.

Fantasy Standouts

• Bradley Wright-Phillips ($11.3): He scored 2 goals in a very very very important game for the fans. I was thinking about dropping him for Espindola this week, but I may think twice now.
• Lloyd Sam ($9.1): Sam was at the heart of the attack this week for NY Red Bulls. He assisted on both goals and had bonus points on the defensive and offensive end. The Red Bulls form will probably continue making Sam a hot commodity.

Fantasy Letdowns

• New York City FC: David Villa and Mix both left the game early and the NYCFC hardly looked like a dangerous team. Something needs to happen to prevent a disaster here. It may have to wait till Frank Lampard comes in the Summer, but it may be too late by then.
• Matt Miazga ($5.4): Miazga’s red card didn’t affect his price luckily, but this is what you get for trusting in young players. They tend to make dumb mistakes. For those of you Miazga owners thinking in advance you probably knew you were going to need a replacement come the U20 world cup anyways.

That’s the breakdown for the first half of Round 9. What do you think? Did any players jump out at you who you think deserve to be highlighted? Mention them in the comments below, or send me or Tyler a Tweet and let us know. Also, don’t forget to get involved with the get community her at MLS Fantasy Boss and over at /r/FantasyMLS.