MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 25

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Published on August 21, 2019

The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 25. While they can be used for DFS purposes, they are done with a focus on the league's season-long game.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below, or hit up JD on Twitter @dfsMLS.

Forwards
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	14.5	A majority of competing fantasy teams will have both of the top two here.
2	Heber Araujo dos Santos	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	10.4
3	Wayne Rooney	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	10.0	Does Wazza take out his frustration over officials and charter flights on his opponents this week? He's just barely ahead of Rossi in my estimation.
4	Diego Rossi	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	9.8
5	Valentin Castellanos	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	7.5	In great form, but I still am not 100% confident he'll start both matches.
6	Alexandru Mitrita	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	8.0	Typically safer playing time than Castellanos, but there's a chance that's changing.
7	Adama Diomande	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	8.9	With Brian Rodriguez still working on getting his work visa, Dio is probably safe for both this week.
8	Gyasi Zardes	CLB at NYC, at FCC	9.7	Zardes owes Columbus a stellar outing against FCC after some key blown chances when the two faced off recently.
9	Chris Wondolowski	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	6.9	Hoesen is primed to give Wondo a rest in one of these matches.
10	Josef Martinez	ATL at ORL	14.0	Josef thrives against Orlando.
11	Brian Fernandez	POR v. SEA	10.7
12	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA at LAFC	11.3	Zlatan has LAFC's number in the rivalry thus far, but at some point the better side will have a statement match and shut the Galaxy down. He'll still make his way, justifiably, into many teams' third forward spots but I'd suggest using him from the bench with a safer cheap option (Artur?) also able to sub in.
13	Danny Hoesen	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	5.6
14	Gustavo Bou	NE v. CHI	10.5
15	Ola Kamara	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	8.6
16	Raul Ruidiaz	SEA at POR	10.7
17	Kacper Przybylko	PHI v. DC	8.1
18	Bradley Wright-Phillips	NYRB at DC, at NYC	5.9	Likely to split time with Brian White this week.
19	Jozy Altidore	TOR v. MTL	10.0
20	Sam Johnson	RSL v. COL	7.6

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	12.6	Won't bother writing much here since you have to have these top two.
2	Maximiliano Moralez	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	11.1
3	Vako	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	10.1	He has received a bonus point for shots in an absurd 11 of his last 12 matches!
4	Magnus Eriksson	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	10.3	Close to Vako.
5	Cristian Espinoza	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	9.9	Close to Vako and Eriksson. Better assist potential, but less goals and shots.
6	Pedro Santos	CLB at NYC, at FCC	10.1	In my team for the FCC match alone, after his heroics last time.
7	Latif Blessing	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	9.4	I would listen to arguements for Blessing as high as #4.
8	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	9.8	Kaye here starts a new tier, after Vako-Blessing. I'd much prefer Latif to Kaye.
9	Alexander Ring	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	8.7	With James Sands out, it's possible Ring picks up a few more defensive responsibilities.
10	Daniel Royer	NYRB at DC, at NYC	9.1
11	Marc Rzatkowski	NYRB at DC, at NYC	8.1	Still don't fully trust Rza's playing time during DGWs.
12	Paul Arriola	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	8.1
13	Keaton Parks	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	5.7	If for some reason you're not using your third NYC spot, get Parks on your bench at least!
14	Kaku	NYRB at DC, at NYC	8.2
15	Lucas Rodriguez	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	7.6
16	Wil Trapp	CLB at NYC, at FCC	8.4	Assists in back to back games is unusual for Trapp. I'd just go Artur for less.
17	Cristian Casseres	NYRB at DC, at NYC	7.1
18	Sean Davis	NYRB at DC, at NYC	7.2
19	Luciano Acosta	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	7.6	May only be good for 100-120 since he's entered Ben Olsen's dog house, but I think Olsen gives him a shot soon and he will be motivated.
20	Carles Gil	NE v. CHI	13.2	If you must squeeze in a single game week guy, here's my favorite.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Ronald Matarrita	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	5.6	LAFC are the better side, but their matchups are tougher. Give me the defense that plays Gyasi Zardes and a recovering BWP.
2	Eddie Segura	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	6.5	Zimmerman received a red card last week so Segura is likely the only LAFC center back to play both matches.
3	Maxime Chanot	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	5.9	It will be tough to get two defensive pieces from NYC, with Heber and Maxi demanding spots in the lineup. If you need to catch up, I would fade Maxi (playing time?) and double down on Pigeons' clean sheet potential.
4	Jordan Harvey	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	7.1
5	Steven Beitashour	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	6.0
6	Tommy Thompson	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	7.3	Very slight concern that San Jose rotates some players in for the Vancouver game. The starters have been getting a lot of action lately.
7	Florian Jungwirth	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	6.7
8	Nick Lima	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	5.3
9	Anton Tinnerholm	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	8.0	Considering that he sat out last match with a hamstring injury, I'd be skeptical of him starting both matches this week.
10	Guram Kashia	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	6.6
11	Leonardo Jara	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	6.7	Don't love either fixture but DC are quality enough to grab a clean sheet in one of them. Use Jara for the added attacking potential.
12	Steve Birnbaum	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	6.1
13	Alexander Callens	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	6.0	Sat out the last match with what sounds like a small matter.
14	Ben Sweat	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	4.0	A candidate to fill in for both Sands (definitely out) and Callens (questionable - calf). Sebastien Ibeagha could also jump in, though.
15	Aaron Long	NYRB at DC, at NYC	7.3	Red Bulls center backs are going to get plenty of bonus points this week, even if a clean sheet is doubtful.
16	Frederic Brillant	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	8.1
17	Joseph Mora	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	4.7
18	Michael Amir Murillo	NYRB at DC, at NYC	6.0	Entered the last match for a potentially injured Kemar Lawrence, so keep an eye on starting lineups Wednesday. Before last match, Murillo was benched in favor of Reece Buckmaster.
19	Tim Parker	NYRB at DC, at NYC	6.4
20	Josh Williams	CLB at NYC, at FCC	5.5	Williams/Mensah might be the only centerbacks left for the Crew at this point.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Sean Johnson	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	6.0	This doesn't factor into my rankings, but Johnson is a better strategic play than Miller because you'll be able to see both of his scores before some good single week keepers kick off (Rimando/Gonzalez). Miller's second game is the final match of the week.
2	Tyler Miller	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	7.4
3	Daniel Vega	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	5.1
4	Eloy Room	CLB at NYC, at FCC	4.4	Room is a viable option this week so that you can fit three other NYC, LAFC, and SJ field players. Cheap too!
5	Bill Hamid	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	6.9	Viable play as a keeperoo option, similar to Sean Johnson.
6	Luis Robles	NYRB at DC, at NYC	6.7
7	Matt Turner	NE v. CHI	6.4	This would be a solid matchup even if Nico Gaitan weren't out due to his red card last match.
8	Jesse Gonzalez	DAL v. HOU	6.7
9	Andre Blake	PHI v. DC	5.2
10	Nick Rimando	RSL v. COL	8.0

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Artur	CLB at NYC, at FCC	5.2	Should be a steady 7-9 points, which isn't too shabby for the price.
2	Luis Diaz	CLB at NYC, at FCC	6.4	More upside than Artur. Slightly less safe playing time.
3	Jackson Yueill	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	7.2
4	Youness Mokhtar	CLB at NYC, at FCC	7.5	Playing time is uncertain but he'd be a good play if guaranteed 150 minutes.
5	Felipe Martins	DC v. NYRB, at PHI	6.4
6	Maximiliano Urruti	MTL at TOR	6.6
7	Dominique Badji	DAL v. HOU	5.6	Dallas have played more games than all the playoff teams they're chasing. In a rivalry match against a Houston side right chasing them, they need to secure three points.
8	Graham Smith	SKC v. MIN	5.0	If SKC can oust San Jose at home, they've got a shot against Minnesota. Smith has been a boon to the side.
9	Brooks Lennon	RSL v. COL	4.3
10	Justin Meram	ATL at ORL	6.9	Revenge game!

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	14.5	Even if you're chasing in the standings, I don't think I'd advocate for a non-Vela captain this week. Risk it another way and/or another week.
2	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC v. SJ, v. LA	12.6	Safer playing time than Maxi who has been rested at times this season.
3	Maximiliano Moralez	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	11.1
4	Heber Araujo dos Santos	NYC v. CLB, v. NYRB	10.4	If you have to fade Vela, I'd go Heber. He's the only one with upside to reasonably out-duel him in fantasy this week.
5	Vako	SJ at LAFC, v. VAN	10.1