KFC’s MLS Fantasy Keepers & Defenders Roundup – Week 31

 

So I did not post a roundup or any player picks last week, sorry about that, but I had a really good reason… I was in Columbus watching the USA beat Mexico! I may post some pictures later but it was a great time, but it’s time to get back to the blog.

Fortunately, there is no mid week game this week so there is plenty of time to make some posts. So I’m going to split it up between defensive and offensive players this week.

If you want to see more, keep reading after the break. But please join the discussion at r/FantasyMLS, that’s where a lot of planning is made and last second decisions finalized. If you have questions, please stop by!

Goalkeepers:

It’s getting down to the wire now and several players are already starting to look for a keeper to ride through the rest of the season. If you want 1 guy, it comes down to this for me, who has the most home games left? Opponent is also important, but it you look at our form charts, the home field advantage is just huge! I posted a chart at /r/FantasyMLS that has some stats for the remaining home and away games of the season that’s worth taking a look at.

But, I did not base these picks on who has the most home games, just how the games looked this week. So the first guy I’m going to tap is Bobby Shuttleworth (3.9% @ $4.3m). Not only does Shuttleworth have good record of not conceding at home, but DC has such a horrid away scoring percentage (1 goal every 3.5 games), it’s just hard to pass up. Next is Nick Rimando (13.4% @ $4.3m). This one is no surprise and I’m sure several people are looking for Rimando to be a guy to ride the rest of the season. Like DC, San Jose just struggle on the road scoring only every 1.56 games. My third pick this week is a tossup. I was having trouble deciding between New York and Houston. In the end, I decided that Tally Hall’s (14.6% @ $6.9m) game against Chivas was just too tempting. New York given up fewer goals at home, but Dallas has the better chance to score on the road than Chivas. 

Those last two guys were expensive, so I don’t want to end without providing a good differential option. Jamie Penedo’s (1.7% @ $4.9m) match against Seattle will be tough, but I think he will start and LA has been better at home. He’s also one of the two keepers I’d look at if you would like to squeeze 8 games out of these last six. 

Defenders:

As always, I’m going to assume that many of you are already familiar with some of the top defender picks: Aurélien Collin, Omar Gonzalez, Jose Goncalves, and Rodney Wallace to name a few so I’ll not waste characters on explaining why you should have some of these guys on your team. Instead we’ll focus on some players you might be able to gain some points with.

First, I need to point out that there is a good chance the Jamison Olave could miss the game against Dallas so keep an eye on the suspension report to see if they apple a retroactive card. That being said, New York is still a tempting team and if Olave is out, Markus Holgersson (10.3% @ $5.1m) is a great option and value for your team. He’s not going to score goals, but he has some excellent CBI and Recovery numbers. Next, if you’re looking for a good value player from a top rates team, Nat Borchers (3.7% @ $5.3m) could be the man for you. He has good CBI numbers and has managed to get forward in the past few games, but he’s mainly a guy you hope to get CS with. Finally, I’m going to shake thins up a little and go with another differential, Chad Marshall (3.9% @ $5.9m). Though more expensive than Borchers, he’s should see a lot of action due to other defender injuries Columbus has suffered, he also scored a goal last week but I would not expect many more of those.

Final thoughts

• POR v COL and LA v SEA could be tough matches for defensive players

• Look at Home rotations for these last weeks

• Wallace could be a good Caparoo option this week

• Keep an eye on the injury report for last min suspentions

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!