As I mentioned in my earlier post, several people at /r/FantasyMLS have been discussing which keeper was worth keeping for the rest of the season. To help I posted some tables in the thread with information about remaining home and away games for each team. I did this because the KFC form charts clearly show that all of the MLS teams are MUCH better at home. So who stands out as the best option?
Keep reading to see the breakdown.
Best Keeper Option
The gut reaction is to go with of the teams with a team that has 4 home games left in the last 6 weeks (Houston, LA, and Portland). Of these three teams, as of week 30, Houston has an average of allowing 1 goal during each home game, Portland has allowed 1 goal every 1.17 games, and LA has allowed 1 goal every 1.86 games. In addition to having the best home conceding record but at a cost of only $4.9m, LA also has the cheapest keeper, Jaime Penedo. So he’s the guy to pick right?
On Second Thought
Why should you have to settle for only 4 home games? We all get two keepers so why not use them. In the past I’ve posted charts with player rotations, this is the perfect time to use that idea.
LA’s Jaime Penedo is still one of the players you want to start with because LA is the only team left that has a double game week of 2 home games. So which teams have a perfect rotation with LA? There are only 2, Seattle and Vancouver. Seattle has allowed 1 goal every 1.56 home games and Vancouver has allowed 1 goal every 0.88 homes games. Seattle is the clear winner here (especially if you consider home form) AND they have allowed the second fewest goals at home, second only to LA. Michael Gspurning does come with an expensive price tag of $5.8m, but you should be able to save some cash with Jaime Penedo.
So how many home games can you get if you have a combination of Penedo and GsPurning, a very respectable 7 out of 8. Here’s how they matchup.
LA | H | A | H | BYE | H/H | A |
SEA | A | H | A | H/A | A | H |
Final Thoughts
I think either one of these keepers would be a fine choice if you are trying to save money and want a cheap 2nd keeper before the Playoff WC, but both Seattle and LA have an excellent chance to make the playoffs, so getting these players now could be a great time to get them “cheap”. Both teams also have a shot at the MLS Cup an it’s always nice to have a winner.
Who are you going with for the end of the season? Do you like the idea of this rotation? Leave your thoughts below or comment in the thread related to this post at /r/FantasyMLS. You can also always reach us on Twitter @FantasyMLSTips.