KFC’s Fantasy MLS Keeper picks – Week 21

Here are our keeper picks for week 21.

Well, it’s time for the 2^nd wildcard. You have until the start of week 26 to use it, and the best time to use it is up to you. If you think you’d like to change keepers, our post from yesterday and one by Cully from FantasyMLS.net are two must a read. Heck, you should read them anyway.

But this week, we’re talking about keepers and there are a few that we think are worth taking a look at.  Keep reading to see our picks.

Keepers

We’re going to start out with a couple of players that we think many managers already have on their teams. Clint Irwin (14.4% @ $5.1m) and Bobby Shuttleworth (6.1% @ $5.0m). Irwin has been one of the cheapest keepers this season, and has earned one of the highest point totals so far. Unfortunately, Colorado has run into a rough sport recently. Shuttleworth is also quite affordable and plays behind a defense that has allowed the fewest goals so far this season. We mention these two players first because they have double games next week, so you may want to consider having one of them on your team (NOTE Colorado has a bye this week).

If you’re already set for the double game week, there are a couple of other keepers we’d like to point out. If you rad Cully’s article, you saw that Clean sheet heave and bonus point heavy keepers don’t’ really have much of an advantage over others. You’re best bet is to try to find a good mix, or an “X” factor that gives you an advantage. We think that “X” factor is home games.

Over the next six weeks, the two keepers with the most home game are Zac MacMath and JonBusch. Of these two, Zac MacMath (4.6% @ $4.9m) is the only keeper we can recommend.  He has an average number of saves (55) and clean sheets (5) and has the second highest recovery numbers. He’s an average keeper and one that stands out as a good differential pick thanks to having 4 home games over the next 5 weeks. He also has the advantage of rotating well with Portland if you want to try to maximize having a keeper at home.

Finally, if you are looking to have the best home keeper, then Carlo Cudicini (6.4% @ $5.4m) is your guy. Over 9 home games, LA has only allowed 3 goals and had 6 clean sheets. That’s an impressing record for any keeper.

Final thoughts

• Of the big name keepers: Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Gspurning, and Donovan Ricketts look promising for this week.

• Nick Rimando has some great numbers, too bad he’s gone to the Gold Cup. Might be worth a look when he comes back.

• Keep an eye on the new, more defensive, Chivas.

That’s all I got. I’d love to hear your feedback, plans, and insights.

These are our picks, if you think there should be more names on this list, please leave a comment or come to r/FantasyMLS and comment on the post. You can also leave a message on our Facebook page or you can find us on Twitter @FantasyMLSTips. Keep checking back for more updates through the week for other positions. Good Luck!