Player Positional Rankings: MLS Fantasy Round 20

Isaac Jensen ~ @ZenVikingFC on Discord

My first draft for this week’s rankings article began, “Now that we’re back to normal …” then I remembered this is MLS Fantasy. Sure, we have players returning from international play, which might see starting XIs return to what we would reasonably expect, but that doesn’t mean any match results will. Most fantasy managers were downright perplexed last weekend when basement-dwellers LA Galaxy tore through the Vancouver Whitecaps, who, until recently, looked unplayable. Many of us were shocked when the Houston Dynamo ambled into SoCal and put four goals past San Diego FC, who currently sit atop the Western Conference standings. And when Sporting Kansas City only needed five total shots and just 33% possession to secure a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids, at altitude, at least some of us no longer needed to wonder what imposter syndrome feels like. MLS Fantasy will do that to a person. In this league, you need to expect the unexpected because chaos is the norm.

Round 20 is a mini-DGW, with only four teams playing two games, and the rest playing only one. Here’s something to keep that in mind as you fill in your roster. The recommended strategy for these types of rounds is to pick as many double-game players as you can, since those players, on average, earn 1.5 times the number of points their single-game counterparts will earn. This allows you to maximize your potential points. But with only four teams having two games, that strategy will invariably lead to heavy chalk (common picks) across the entire field of fantasy managers. This means most of us will have the same 8-12 double-game players rostered for this round, a scenario which seriously limits anyone’s ability to improve their rank. But there are opportunities to move up if you know how to differentiate your picks effectively, and rank movement this round will largely come down to which single-game players you decide to go with, how you choose to utilize your bench, and who your captain pick will be.

  • Teams on a DGW:
    • Home + Home: LAFC
    • Home + Away: NER
    • Away + Home: MIA, COL
    • Away + Away: None
  • Teams on a SGW: Everybody else
  • Teams on a BYE: None

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Note: (?) means the player might not start due to injury, lack of fitness, availability status or loss of starting spot. (OOP) means the player is expected to play out of position. (YCW) means the player is one caution away from suspension.

GOALKEEPERS

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Hugo Lloris (?)LAFCvs COL, vs DAL$6.40m
2. Aljaz IvacicNERvs MIA, @ ATX$8.00m
3. Javier OteroORLvs MTL$4.10m

Sleeper Goalkeepers

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Oscar UstariMIA@ NER, vs NSH$4.90m
2. Nicholas HansenCOL@ LAFC, vs VAN$5.40m

DEFENDERS

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Eddie SeguraLAFCvs COL, vs DAL$8.30m
2. Jordi AlbaMIA@ NER, vs NSH$6.40m
3. Sergi Palencia (YCW)LAFCvs COL, vs DAL$6.10m
4. Brayan Ceballos (YCW)NERvs MIA, @ ATX$8.20m
5. Chidozie AwaziemCOL@ LAFC, vs VAN$6.60m
6. Peyton MillerNERvs MIA, @ ATX$8.90m
7. Marcella WeigandtMIA@ NER, vs NSH$5.60m
8. Alex FreemanORLvs MTL$10.10m
9. Kai WagnerPHIvs NYRB$11.70m
10. Luca OrellanoCINvs CLB$10.00m

Sleeper Defenders

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Guilherme BiroATXvs NER$9.50m
2. Bongi Hlongwane (OOP)MINvs SJE$8.30m

MIDFIELDERS

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Carles GilNERvs MIA, @ ATX$14.50m
2. Djordje MihailovicCOL@ LAFC. vs VAN$13.10m
3. EvanderCINvs CLB$14.20m
4. Martin OjedaORLvs MTL$13.90m
5. Telasco SegoviaMIA@ NER, vs NSH$7.30m
6. Anders DryerSDFC@ CHI$14.70m
7. Pep BielCLTvs NYC$12.80m
8. Hany MukhtarNSH@ MIA$14.20m
9. Mark DelgadoLAFCvs COL, vs DAL$9.30m
10. Philip ZinckernagelCHIvs SDFC$12.40m

Sleeper Midfielders

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Albert RusnakSEA@ SKC$12.60m
2. Ted Ku-DiPietroCOL@ LAFC, vs VAN$6.30m

FORWARDS

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Lionel MessiMIA@ NER, vs NSH$14.30m
2. Denis BouangaLAFCvs COL, vs DAL$12.00m
3. Luis Suarez (YCW)MIA@ NER, vs NSH$10.30m
4. Rafael NavarroCOL@ LAFC, vs VAN$9.70m
5. Tadeo AllendeMIA@ NER, vs NSH$7.50m
6. Leo CampanaNERvs MIA, @ ATX$7.50m
7. Tani OluwaseyiMINvs SJE$10.90m
8. Luis MurielORLvs MTL$9.90m
9. Sam SurridgeNSH@ MIA$13.00m
10. João KlaussSTLvs POR$8.20m

Sleeper Forwards

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Milan IloskiSDFC@ CHI$8.50m
2. Brian WhiteVAN@ COL$11.00m

CAPTAIN

PLAYERTEAMOPPONENTVALUE
1. Lionel MessiMIA@ NER, vs NSH$14.30m
2. Denis BouangaLAFCvs COL, vs DAL$12.00m
3. Carles GilNERvs MIA, @ ATX$14.50m

About Isaac Jensen

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