MLS Fantasy Boss Round 19 Captain Poll

It’s finally time for the first captain poll of the year. Don’t forget, the transfer deadline is Friday the 10th at 11:00pm EST so be sure to get all of your trades in and captain set by then.

There are several good captain options for this first round, have you decided on yours yet? Well now is your chance to find out what others think and cast your vote for your favorite player. If you would like to join the discussion at r/FantasyMLS or be sure to join the Live Chat in the sidebar just to your right.

Don’t forget to vote in the r/FantasyMLS Round 19 Captain poll!

Depending on how you look at it, the loss of so many popular players to the Gold Cup could have two effects on how you pick your MLS Fantasy captain. On one side, there are now fewer big name players to choose from. On the other, different team dynamics may leave you wondering just how consistent the typical go-to options will be.

To help you narrow down the options I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 captain choices (in no particular order) for Round 19.

David Villa ($10.9m – 16.6% Ownership)

After a rough start to the season, Villa seems to have finally settled into life in the MLS and has scored 5 goals and earned 1 assist over his last 4 games. This makes him one of the league’s most on form players and a top contender for a Round 19 captain for many managers, but don’t let all of his recent success blind you to some important stats. Of Villa’s 5 goals 4 of them have come on the road and NYC has one of the lowest home scoring records in the league. The only bright side is that Toronto has not done a fantastic job at keeping goals out of the net when on the road. If NYC gets a goal in this game, Villa is the most likely source, but there may be other options that give you a better chance.

Sebastian Giovinco ($12.3m – 22.5% Ownership)

Speaking of Toronto, it’s hard to have a captain list that does not include the pricy Giovinco. His performance against LA was a shocker to say the least! I honestly expected him to be able to take advantage of LA’s loss of defensive starters, but their offense was just too much for Toronto to handle. So I’m choosing to consider that game a fluke and leave Gio on my short list for captain choices especially since Toronto is still the second best road scoring team in the league. Combine that with NYC’s poor home defensive record and I would not be surprised to see goals on both sides.

Benny Feilhaber ($10.3m – 24% Ownership)

If you listened to the MLS Fantasy Insider Podcast this week, then you already know that I consider Benny one of my two “must have” players for this round and it’s not hard to see why. Everything is just falling into place for him this season and the Gold Cup weeks are no different. SKC’s starting XI was not hit too hard by international callus, their overall form is on the way up, and with Zusi gone, Feilhaber is sure to continue to be a key offensive player (2 goals and 2 assists in his past 4 games). Normally I’d not bank this much on a team that has been struggling on the road, but with Vancouver missing several key starters, SKC has a good chance to come away with a valuable win.

Kei Kamara ($9.5m – 35.3% Ownership) and Ethan Finlay ($8.9m – 20.9% Ownership)

My final 2 captain options both come from the Columbus Crew and are both currently leaders of two key offensive stats. Kamara is the current the top goal scorer (12) and Finaly is leading the league in assists (10). Don’t think they are one trick ponies though because over the past few weeks they have each earned points from both stats and have been key to the Crew’s rising momentum. I also expect this success to continue over the next two weeks as Columbus is playing two teams that are struggling to not be at the bottom of the league table (Montreal and Chicago). As for which one to pick for your captain, it’s basically a coin toss, but I lean toward Finlay due to his involvement in the majority of Columbus’ most promising buildups.

Do you have any other names to throw into the ring as potential captain candidates? Post them in the comments below or come over to r/FantasyMLS to join the ongoing discussion and vote in the captain poll.

r/FantasyMLS Round 19 Captain poll