With Round 1 in the books, we move on to Round 2 of the 2025 MLS Fantasy season having been reminded of some valuable lessons in planning, chaos mitigation and expectation management. MLS has added all but a handful of players to the MLS Fantasy game’s database, and we’re in great shape with tons of options for the round. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in with our Round 2 Player Positional Rankings.
Dayne St. Clair registered 5 saves and conceded only 1 goal to LAFC in Los Angeles, a venue where clean sheets are a rarity for visiting teams. And, he did it with a couple of backup center backs in front of him. I expect a much stronger defensive performance when the Loons take on CF Montreal at Allianz Field on Saturday. Jefferson Diaz is expected to return after a one-match suspension that carried over from last season, and we might even see the debut of Nicolas Romero, Minnesota United’s $5m off-season acquisition at the center back position.
Premium Goalkeepers
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Dayne St. Clair
MIN
vs MTL
$6.5
2. Carlos Coronel
NYRB
vs NSH
$6.1
3. Hugo Lloris
LAFC
vs NYC
$6.9
4. CJ dos Santos
SDFC
vs STL
$6.5
Value Goalkeepers
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Oscar Ustari (Q)
MIA
@ HOU
$4.0
2. Andrew Thomas (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$5.0
Sleeper Goalkeepers
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Stefan Frei (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$6.3
2. Joe Willis
NSH
@ NYRB
$6.9
DEFENDERS
Picking defenders playing away from home is risky. In fact, MLS has the largest home field advantage of any professional sport, worldwide. There are exceptions, however, and Luca Orellano is one of them if he makes his debut against Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The reason: he would be lining up alongside Evander as an attacking midfielder against an exploitable defense, the ideal scenario for any defender seeking attacking returns.
Premium Defenders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Luca Orellano (?)
CIN
@ PHI
$8.0
2. Kai Wagner
PHI
vs CIN
$7.8
3. Bongokuhle Hlongwane
MIN
vs MTL
$7.6
4. Aaron Long
LAFC
vs NYC
$7.0
5. Paddy McNair
SDFC
vs STL
$7.0
6. Adilson Malanda
CLT
vs ATL
$7.4
Value Defenders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Anthony Markanich
MIN
vs MTL
$5.3
2. Carlos Harvey
MIN
vs MTL
$5.0
3. Omar Valencia
NYRB
vs NSH
$4.5
4. Michael Boxall
MIN
vs MTL
$5.8
5. Francis Westfield
PHI
vs CIN
$4.5
6. Teenage Hadebe
CIN
@ PHI
$5.2
7. Jamar Ricketts (?)
SJE
@ SKC
$4.5
8. William Meyer (?)
NSH
@ NYRB
$5.2
9. Morris Duggan (?)
MIN
vs MTL
$4.0
10. Matthew Edwards (?)
ATL
@ CLT
$4.0
11. Ronald Hernandez
ATL
@ CLT
$5.6
12. Femi Awodesu
HOU
vs MIA
$4.0
Sleeper Defenders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Lukas Engel
CIN
@ PHI
$6.0
2. Paul Arriola (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$7.2
3. Jackson Ragen (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$7.2
4. Steven Moreira
CLB
@ NER
$7.6
5. Walker Zimmerman
NSH
@ NYRB
$7.3
6. Rodrigues
SJE
@ SKC
$7.3
MIDFIELDERS
We’re blessed with a number of decent midfield options in Round 2. I could probably make a case for most being totally interchangeable, so I’m going full spicy with the top pick: Anders Dreyer. Yeah, I’m aware of the small sample size, but I really don’t care. The way he dismantled the 2024 MLS Cup Champions in Carson six days ago is worthy of the rank, now imagine what he’s going to do to poor Tom Totland and Henry Kessler. Fade him at your fantasy team’s peril.
Premium Midfielders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Anders Dreyer
SDFC
vs STL
$8.3
2. Ryan Gauld
VAN
vs LAG
$9.0
3. Evander
CIN
@ PHI
$8.8
4. Martin Ojeda
ORL
vs TOR
$8.0
5. Marco Pašalić
ORL
vs TOR
$8.0
6. Jonathan Bamba
CHI
vs DCU
$7.7
7. Cengiz Ünder (?)
LAFC
vs NYC
$8.5
8. Albert Rusnak (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$8.8
9. Jack McGlynn
HOU
vs MIA
$8.1
10. Daniel Gazdag
PHI
vs CIN
$8.3
11. Carles Gil
NER
vs CLB
$8.5
12. Djordje Mihailovic
COL
vs DAL
$7.8
13. Miguel Almiron
ATL
@ CHI
$8.7
14. Lucho Acosta
DAL
@ COL
$8.3
15. Emil Forsberg
NYRB
vs NSH
$7.9
16. Manu Garcia
SKC
vs SJE
$8.0
Value Midfielders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Pep Biel
CLT
vs ATL
$6.7
2. Jayden Nelson
VAN
vs LAG
$6.3
3. David Martinez (?)
LAFC
vs NYC
$6.1
4. Robin Lod (?)
MIN
vs MTL
$7.2
5. Dylan Chambost
CLB
@ NER
$6.9
6. Ignacio Ganago
NER
vs CLB
$6.5
7. Paul Rothrock (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$6.5
8. Georgi Minoungou (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$5.3
9. Maxi Moralez
NYC
@ LAFC
$7.0
10. Joaquin Pereyra
MIN
vs MTL
$6.5
Sleeper Midfielders
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Federico Bernardeschi
TOR
@ ORL
$8.5
2. Cristian Espinoza
SJE
@ SKC
$8.0
3. Osman Bukari
ATX
@ POR
$7.0
4. Pablo Ruiz
RSL
vs SEA
$7.5
5. Philip Zinckernagel
CHI
vs DCU
$7.7
6. Lewis Morgan
NYRB
vs NSH
$7.7
7. Pedro de la Vega (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$7.2
8. Luca de la Torre
SDFC
vs STL
$7.3
9. Marcel Hartel
STL
@ SDFC
$8.2
10. Amine Bassi
HOU
vs MIA
$7.7
FORWARDS
I’m assuming that we don’t need to review all the reasons why Lionel Messi sits atop the premium forward rankings, because that would be boring and I don’t want to appear biased. Well, actually I do want to appear biased because that’s the entire point of ranking players. Anyway, It’s still Messi. His CCC minutes were managed sufficiently midweek, so he should start and play at least 60 minutes on Sunday in Houston.
Premium Forwards
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Lionel Messi
MIA
@ HOU
$10.4
2. Kelvin Yeboah
MIN
vs MTL
$7.9
3. Denis Bouanga
LAFC
vs NYC
$8.7
4. Gabriel Pec
LAG
@ VAN
$8.0
5. Chucky Lozano
SDFC
vs STL
$8.7
6. Christian Benteke
DCU
@ CHI
$8.8
7. Kevin Denkey
CIN
@ PHI
$8.9
8. Brian White (?)
VAN
vs LAG
$8.1
9. Ezekiel Ponce
HOU
vs MIA
$8.2
10. Luis Suarez (?)
MIA
@ HOU
$8.7
Value Forwards
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyi (?)
MIN
vs MTL
$6.9
2. Patrick Agyemang
CLT
vs ATL
$7.5
3. Ramiro Enrique
ORL
vs TOR
$7.2
Sleeper Forwards
PLAYER
TEAM
OPPONENT
VALUE
1. Brandon Vazquez
ATX
@ POR
$8.0
2. Diego Rossi
CLB
@ NER
$8.5
3. Hugo Cuypers
CHI
vs DCU
$8.0
4. Emmanuel Latte Lath
ATL
@ CLT
$8.5
5. Jordan Morris (?)
SEA
@ RSL
$8.3
6. Petar Musa
DAL
@ COL
$9.0
7. Chicho Arango
SJE
@ SKC
$8.1
CAPTAIN
Pro tip: Houston vs Miami is the last match of the round. If it turns out the previous prediction is false and Messi is benched, and assuming you plan to make him your captain, you’re going to need a fallback captain in that match. Plan accordingly.
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