MLS Fantasy Review Round 14 (Part 1)

 

DC United 3 vs. Chicago Fire 1

Highlights

The Chicago Fire looked very promising early on with an attack being led by Shipp (because of Maloney’s Int’l duty absence) and Accam. The two linked up well early on and it eventually resulted in a Fire goal with mounting momentum. However, DC United managed to quell it and Espindola came on early in the second half to rally the DC United offense to an uncontested 3 goals. The Fire’s attack is starting to look dangerous, but if they want to have league success, their defense needs work. Fortunately for us, offensive fantasy production is offensive fantasy production and unless you’re a Fire fan you’re ok if they keep getting scored on. DC United on the other hand couldn’t be any happier seeing Espindola come on and provide the missing link to the attack.

Fantasy Standouts/Letdowns

• Accam looks to start his scoring rampage just before going on int’l duty, which is unfortunate for fantasy owners, while Shipp won’t maintain his offensive mainstay role once Maloney returns. Also Espindola… Nothing more needs to be said.

Philadelphia Union 3 vs. Columbus Crew 0

Highlights

The DGWs continue to upset many, but also make others incredibly happy. For those of you that bet on the Union, good job. Many were upset by Kamara starting on the bench, and then everyone got progressively more upset when the Crew proceeded to concede 3 and score 0. Unfortunately Aristeguita had to come off early with an injury, upsetting several fantasy, owners, however it opened the door for CJ Sapong to show what he can do and he didn’t disappoint. The happiest owners were those who noticed Maidana’s consistency as he continued to average a good amount per game.

Fantasy Standouts/Letdowns

• Maidana. He’s the epitome of consistency on the seemingly woeful Union team. The Crew, entirely a letdown, but we can see if they turn it around in the weekend game.

Montreal Impact 2 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 1

Highlights

Ignacio Piatti and Jack McInerney. I said last week, Piatti had a bad game, but is very likely to not have a bad game twice and he didn’t disappoint. Meanwhile McInerney shower that there’s absolutely no reason he shouldn’t be starting every game at striker (The kid is still just 22 with 34 goals to his name already). Safe to say the Impact have got me buzzing over here. The Whitecaps are a different story. They lost their sexy young dynamic team appeal that they started the season off with. Morales and Rivero have stopped performing and the speed demons of Manneh and Mattocks refuse to show us their true potential as they continued to do in this game.

Fantasy Standouts/Letdowns

• McInerney and Piatti. There’s no reason these two stop scoring and getting it done. The defense can’t seem to keep a clean sheet yet, but that doesn’t seem to be a huge problem for them. The Whitecaps offense on the other hand also looks like it’s lacking inspiration. We’ll see how they react to this loss.

Houston Dynamo 4 vs. New York Red Bulls 2

Highlights

This guy. Will Bruin has been proving his critics wrong the last couple games. He’s also helped the Dynamo prove its critics wrong. The Dynamo are now tied for the lead in most goals scored this season, proving that we should be reconsidering fantasy options from the Dynamo offense. The Red Bulls offense was able to snag a pair through some unusual suspects, but the defense could do nothing to keep out Will Bruin and Garcia and look like they could really use some help stabilizing that back line with the return of Miazga.

Fantasy Standouts

• Will Bruin ($8.4): This guy is a steal with the look of this Dynamo offense. 2 goals, an assist and attacking BP leaving him with 16 this past weekend. The only unfortunate part is Dynamo is on a bye 🙁 but look for him the following week.
• Boniek Garcia ($8.8): Again I can’t recommend any Dynamo players to your team due to their upcoming bye, but if Garcia gives another showing like he did this weekend he’s gonna need a look. May be the new PK taker as well.

Fantasy Letdowns

• New York Red Bulls Defense: atrocious. If you let in 4 goals something was wrong. Nobody I’d trust from this defensive line on my fantasy team for the time being, and they have a bye next week so lay off. However, don’t rule them out for their DGW in GW 17.
• Brad Davis ($9.9): Too expensive and if there’s going to be 4 goals and he doesn’t have a hand in any of them, it makes me wonder how important he is to this offense.

New York City FC 2 vs. Philadelphia Union 1

Highlights

2 strikers from opposing teams made claims this game to increase their starting time. Patrick Mullins took advantage of the opportunity given to him after Nemec’s injury to score the game winning goal, while CJ Sapong looked to cement himself as the target forward the Union has been lacking. This game was a tale of 2 sides that both badly need wins. However, NYCFC needed this win more and although it wasn’t the most beautiful (or exciting fantasy-wise) it was nonetheless needed.

Fantasy Standouts

• Cristian Maidana ($8.9): The offense got going on Wednesday through Maidana and he continued to be effective this weekend, but he can only do so much and his value at the end of the day depends on the quality he’s surrounded by. This is where we look to see how consistent CJ Sapong can be. Also Philly has a bye week before they face LA and then their DGW.
• CJ Sapong ($6.9): If he’s about to be their starting center forward at $6.9 I think I might just find a way to at least throw him on my bench and see how consistent he and the Union can be.

Fantasy Letdowns

• New York City: The defense isn’t good enough to keep clean sheets just yet, and the offense is still all over the place. At times during the game you had David Villa neglecting to pass because it almost seemed like he didn’t have as much faith in his midfielder McNamara as he did in himself. However, McNamara would go on to even it up and then you had Mullins off the bench. There’s no consistency on this team, which makes for a horrible fantasy pick whether or not they’re winning.

Toronto FC 2 vs. DC United 1

Highlights

Giovinco. is. the. man. Jozy Altidore said he thought Juve could’ve used him the the UCL Final and I’d agree. This guy is what all of us imagine when foreign players come to MLS. They come and elevate play to another level just like Giovinco did today. There was really nothing DC could do, they were just outclassed. Despite more possession and as many shots for DC United, Toronto had the better of chances and directed 7 shots on goal to DC’s 2. Espindola still was able to make his mark with another assist, but you just can’t help thinking they need a clinical finisher in addition to Espindola whose been in the playmaking role.

Fantasy Standouts

• Sebastian Giovinco ($12.1): There’s a reason he’s the most expensive player in MLS. Fair enough if the price tag scares you off, but in this case he’s earned it. He’s average almost 8 points over the course of the season and over the last 3 games alone he’s had 8, 10, and 12 points. I want this guy for his DGW in GW17. He has a bye in GW15, but make space accordingly to pick him up after.
• Jozy Altidore ($9.9): He may not have score or anything, but the fact that he came on late in the game for appearance makes me believe he’ll most certainly be ready to go after the upcoming bye week. If he’s back I 100% want him for Toronto’s DGW.
• Fabian Espindola ($10.3): Espindola flew under the radar a bit, because he didn’t score, but his score for fantasy was amazing. He assisted in both games and had 3 and 2 attacking bonuses in each game. That is the type of consistency you want to see in your $10.3 forward. Regardless of who he’s got around him he’ll at least manage decent numbers. He’s definitely a must have for your WC team.
• Eriq Zavaleta ($5.5): He’s going to be a great budget defender and looks to have cemented his spot. He’s average 5 points over the last 3 games without a clean sheet to help him out. His BP potential should be attractive for anyone especially if Toronto can start raking in clean sheets.

Fantasy Letdowns

• No letdowns for this one. I won’t fault DC’s defense for Seba being Seba. DC’s defense looks to be coming into form with Birnbaum back.

Montreal Impact 2 vs. Columbus Crew 1

Highlights

Now don’t feel like you made a mistake picking up Kei Kamara. Everyone felt the same as you and had every reason to feel that way. I mean come on, who takes 10 shots and doesn’t score once? Well the answer is Kei Kamara, unfortunately. The good news is that if you listened to me last week you picked up Ignacio Piatti and were rewarded as he helped create a myriad of chances for the Impact and assisted on one. The Crew, however, had twice as many chances at goal, but directed half as many as the Impact did on goal. I don’t know what you want to attribute that too, but it basically means both offenses were present in full force.

Fantasy Standouts

• Ignacio Piattii ($9.8): scored midweek and assisted this weekend. He’s not on a bye in GW 15 and is someone I plan on having around for the DGW in GW 17.
• Andres Romero ($7.9): Romero is cheap access into Impact’s offense and always looks dangerous.

Fantasy Letdowns

• Kei Kamara ($9.0): I’m putting him here because he was literally a letdown. Now I do think he will continue to score and have a presence, but I think he’ll drop off similar to Rivero and if I were someone who needed to set myself apart from the pack I would drop the guy who is owned by 35% of owners. Trust me it’ll feel so good when he blanks and you dropped him.

That’s the breakdown for the first half of Round 10. 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.