I hope everyone is ready for another week of MLS Fantasy nonsense, where the points are made up and only matter a little bit. We had plenty of carryover from last season: Messi had a pair of excellent assists, Benteke scored, Cincy and LAFC had stout defenses, and Portland was bad. Then there were some things that will take getting used to if they become a trend: Atlanta may have a great offense, the Galaxy might be bad (for now, at least), and San Jose is like good good? What is this league coming to? Let's jump into things and try and learn the lessons of Week 1 while separating out the noise.
Week 2 Schedule
Saturday starts with Charlotte vs Atlanta at 11:15 am (all times PST), then RSL vs Seattle at 1:30 pm. These are two interesting matchups from a fantasy perspective – there could be points here at reasonable prices if you find the right pieces.
After an hour break, the league gets into the Saturday night slate:
- 4:30 pm – New England vs. Columbus, NYRB vs. Nashville, Orlando vs. Toronto, Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati
- 5:30 pm – Chicago vs. DC, Kansas City vs. San Jose, Minnesota vs. Montreal
- 6:30 pm – Colorado vs. Dallas
- 7:30 pm – San Diego vs. St. Louis, LAFC vs. NYCFC, Portland vs. Austin
We have two games on Sunday again, Vancouver vs Galaxy (2:00 pm) and Houston vs Miami (4:00 pm).
I am personally liking the varied schedules with games spread across the weekend. It does make lineup watching across all the games more time consuming, but I think it's a great change! The combo of an early game or two so you can know some scores early, then Sunday games so you can set up Sunday scrubs and have the night and morning to decide you final lineup is very welcome. Plus, of course, being able to watch more games is a big positive.
I don't have anything to add about the specific matchups other than to remind you which teams played midweek (RSL, Seattle, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Colorado, LAFC, Vancouver, Miami) and the ones that play midweek next week (Seattle vs Cruz Azul, Cincinnati vs Tigres, LAFC at Columbus, Vancouver vs Monterrey, Miami at Cavalier, and Galaxy vs Herediano). We could see rotation for any or all of them.
Week 2 quick rankings
In no particular order, these are the handful of options I am primarily considering for this weekend.
GK: Yohei Takaoka (VAN $6.1m), Carlos Coronel (RBNY $6.1m), Andrew Thomas (SEA $5.0m), Oscar Ustari (MIA $4.0m)
DEF: Jamar Ricketts (SJ $4.5m), Omar Valencia (RBNY $4.5m), Sam Adekugbe (VAN $6.5m), Stuart Hawkins (SEA $4.0m), Femi Awodesu (HOU $4.0m), Luca Orellano (CIN $8.0m), Kai Wagner (PHI $7.8m), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC $6.8m)
MID: Ryan Gauld (VAN $9.0m), Emil Forsberg (RBNY $7.9m), Martin Ojeda (ORL $8.0m), Marco Pasalic (ORL $8.0m), Albert Rusnak (SEA $8.8m), Georgi Minoungou (SEA $5.3m), Jack McGlynn (HOU $8.1m), Osman Bukari (ATX $7.0m)
FWD: Leo Messi (MIA $10.4m), Emmanuel Latte Lath (ATL $8.5m), Diego Rossi (CLB $8.5m), Christian Benteke (DC $8.8m), Kevin Denkey ($8.9m), Kelvin Yeboah (MIN $7.9m)
Thoughts and feelings
RBNY vs Nashville: I think the Red Bulls are going to be fine. Opening the season at Cincinnati is tough, and I am not yet a believer in Nashville, especially after Nashville's dour 0-0 draw at home to New England. Coronel is a good option for an earlier game keeperoo, Valencia was very involved (44 passes, 6 KPs, 1 cross, 1 shot, 2 fouls suffered) and Forsberg is generally their attack engine and should be great once they figure out the spacing with Choupo-Moting. It's a bit of a called shot here but I don't think it's much of a risk to bet on the defending Eastern Conference Champions.
Charlotte vs Atlanta: This will be a huge early test for these teams, as each are likely high to mid playoff teams, just behind the elite East teams. Atlanta has a defense to work out (despite winning 3-2 they ended up conceding 2.5 xGA at home to Montreal) and Charlotte will want to prove that away to Seattle is just a tough matchup. Latte Lath looks like the real deal, otherwise I am giving these teams another week to decide how I view most of their players through a fantasy lens.
RSL vs Seattle: This one is where I think a lot of fantasy fortunes could be made. Both teams are coming off midweek matches and Seattle is looking forward to hosting Cruz Azul next week. Rotation is inevitable at some positions, while other guys are rested and ready for this matchup. Diego Luna is still working back from a broken nose suffered on USMNT duty, but may be fit for his first RSL start this year. Albert Rusnák did not need to help against Antigua and is ready to play against his old club. Both teams have defenders that probably need a rest – Jordan Morris may start but is doubtful to play more than 60 minutes, and we could see some real youths suit up for both teams.
Georgi Minoungou and Paul Rothrock are likely to start next to Rusnák and are good budget-friendly midfield plays. Georgi "only" had 5 points last week with his fantastic assist, and he was one KP and one cross away from two BPs. On the other side, Pablo Ruiz had six (6!) bonus points in RSL's loss to the Earthquakes and could be a sneaky strong option if he starts against a rotated Seattle defense, but he did start in RSL's midweek match and might come off the bench here. And if Seattle gives Stuart Hawkins a start at CB, he could put in a Ragen-esque performance with high volume passing and a good chance at a CS, all for the minimum price tag. I'm also interested in taking Thomas if he starts – he's at $5.0m and unlike Stefan Frei he won't be weighed down by a disappointing Week 1 performance for calculating a price rise/fall. Great values.
Orlando vs Toronto: Even though Orlando got beat up by Philly at home (4-2), I still think they are in for a good year. Hosting Toronto is an opportunity to show they are ready to return to the Eastern Conference Finals. The two stars in Week 1 for Orlando were Martin Ojeda (one assist and six bonus points via 18 KPs, three crosses, four shots) and Marco Pasalic (two goals, 11 KPs, seven shots). If these guys keep clicking it should be a very fruitful year for them in fantasy and in the East.
Kansas City vs San Jose: SKC are coming off a dispiriting drubbing at the hands of Miami, a 3-1 loss that flattered the visitors. Even though they are at home, they may be due for some rotation. San Jose looked excellent as they took advantage of RSL, though 4-0 may have been harsh on how the visitors actually performed. Anyone who was fortunate enough to pick up San Jose's young wingback, Jamar Ricketts ($4.5m this week), was handsomely rewarded with a clean sheet and a goal. Ricketts is a lock for a price rise and is free money even if San Jose don't perform. Plus, SKC have not proven they can break down an opponent; the only goal they have scored so far was a rocket shot from distance that took a strong deflection. If Bruce Arena's Earthquakes are the real deal, they will handle SKC with ease.
San Diego vs St. Louis: Even though I haven't recommended anyone here, I want to note that St. Louis had the second-best expected goal difference from Week 1. It took some awful finishing from Simon Becher and Joao Klauss and a little luck and a little skill from Zach Steffen to keep the scoreline 0-0. I think St. Louis will perform this year and San Diego might be a playoff team, but I am not sure this is the best spot to take either team's players.
LAFC vs NYCFC: Steve Cherundolo's team brute forced their way to a pair of grueling 1-0 victories this past week. They outlasted Minnesota in league play and eliminated Colorado in CCC on away goals. LAFC still lack midfield creativity and concede the majority of possession, but they have maintained their stout defense from last year. Despite their wins, I'm not a believer in LAFC, with their eye on finally getting the better of Columbus in a knockout competition. NYCFC is dangerous and have been good against LAFC in the past. On the other hand, unless we see LAFC in full rotation, I am not going to bet against them at home. Ryan Hollingshead should be up for another price rise if you want a home defender here.
Portland vs Austin: As much as I'd like it, Portland aren't going to go down to 10 men within 10 minutes in every match. They also looked better when their new Evander replacement, David Da Costa, entered in the second half (though they still lost the second half, 2-1). Still, the one thing I'm confident about for this game is that Austin will score multiple goals, especially with their new DP attacking engine Myrto Uzuni set to start. I like Osman Bukari again this week and Brandon Vaszquez is a reasonable option up top.
Vancouver vs Galaxy: Vancouver put out a somewhat rotated lineup against Saprissa last night and came away with the win they needed. Brian White played 90 minutes and Gauld relieved Jayden Nelson (Week 1's highest-scoring fantasy player, thanks to a hat trick of assists and a goal against Portland) in the 63rd minute to see out the result. I really like Nelson ($6.3m), Adekugbe and Gauld here if they start. Galaxy looked out of sorts and lost in the attack against San Diego. I'm not expecting a blowout, but this is set up for a strong Whitecaps performance. Keep in mind that although the Whitecaps are looking to CCC, the Galaxy have to travel midweek to play Herediano in Costa Rica.
Houston vs Miami: Miami have to fly to Jamaica to face Caribbean Cup champions Cavalier SC, so be on the watch for rotation here. That matchup should not prove a challenge for Miami, but they will certainly want to avoid potential embarrassment. Jack McGlynn had five BPs last week through passes (82), KPs (7), crosses (3), and shots (4). He's the guy to own from Houston if you want to take advantage of Miami's schedule. We could see another start from Femi Awodesu ($4.0m), whose value can only rise, but even if Messi comes off the bench it's hard to recommend any opposing defenders too strongly.
Other odds and ends: Brian Gutierrez got himself suspended, so make sure to drop him if you need to. It's unclear who replaces his production in Chicago (Bamba? Zinckernagel? No one?), but if you guess correctly you could be in for a haul. Diego Rossi had a massive 16 points in Week 1 and is set for a price rise. Columbus looked killer in the attack again, despite the lack of Cucho, and I'm not sure New England can handle them. Targeting Montreal, who like to give up goals on the road, is usually a good idea, so Kelvin Yeboah should be one of your top considerations at forward. Kai Wagner is back in business, earning six KPs and sending in six crosses with an assist. Cincy will be a tough matchup, but he should be a consistent contributor in the attack. On the other side, Luca Orellano is set to make his season debut for Cincy, and he's a good attacker who essentially plays as a winger for them (yet is classified as a defender for fantasy). He could be a very lucrative option.
Captain considerations
Leo Messi - We do this every week. Messi is the #1 captain choice if he is healthy and starting. This week there's a question of rotation, and with him in the last match of the week you'll have fewer options to pivot if he isn't starting, especially if Suarez is also not starting. Still, I pretty much always pick him when I can. Your backup Captain option if Messi is benched can be Jack McGlynn.
Martin Ojeda - I do not believe last week was a fluke – 18 KPs shows the kind of connectiveness that makes offenses hum. Toronto is unlikely to have even an average defense, and I could easily see Ojeda tearing them up and getting on the scoresheet himself.
Albert Rusnák - If he's starting away at RSL with a reasonable team around him, I could see Rusnák having similar numbers as last week given the state of RSL. Last year his visit to RSL went poorly (a 2-0 loss), but that was with Danny Musovski, Minoungou, Leo Chu, Cody Baker and Sota Kitahara amongst the starters. It's no sure thing, but Rusnák could easily have another 10+ point game.
Osman Bukari - If you want the person most likely to benefit from torching Portland's defense.
Kelvin Yeboah - If you want the person most likely to benefit from torching Montreal's road defense.
Emmanuel Latte Lath - He had a brace in Week 1 and Jordan Morris had a brace against Charlotte's defense. The league-record signing will be expected to perform every week and I think Atlanta has the offensive to keep him productive.
Looking ahead
Almost all the new players have been added now, so some guys show as having zero points, but if you look at "points last round" or look at their full page their true scores will show up. This matters for guys like Jayden Nelson and Latte Lath, as their future price should be influenced by these prior high (or low) scores. You can use this to raise your team's budget. That is something you will need to do early season to make sure you can afford the top options going forward. You should prioritize points, of course, as the best way to build your budget is to pick players who score well, but being mindful of players who will increase your value is a good way to determine who gets the last few slots on your team.
