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.
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.
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