The MLS season is finally underway and now we can play fantasy on ESPN! If this is your first time playing fantasy on ESPN, be sure to go over the scoring system and get familiar with the different ways to score points.
In ESPN Fantasy Soccer, you play against only one other opponent each week, so you don't have to beat everybody ... just your weekly opponent.
With that in mind, I am going to recommend one player per tier that I consider has the most upside in the slate while not sacrificing all the "floor" points. These players are perfect to plug in your lineup when you are behind or when you think you are going to need a lot of points to beat your opponent.
This is a special week for MLS fantasy. There will be a reduced amount of games (only five instead of the usual 12 matches) and some players are away with their international teams, so our choices per tier are going to be severely limited.
Tier 1 forward: Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
In his first match with the Red Bulls this season, BWP scored a goal on four shots for a 17-point fantasy performance. Now he gets a plum matchup against an Orlando City side that just gave up 19 shots and three goals at home against Montreal. As a side note, Albert Rusnak and Gyasi Zardes are away with their international teams, so don't choose them for your teams even though their MLS teams have matches this week.
Tier 2 forward: Fafa Picault, Philadelphia Union
Picault has at least three shots in his first three matches against top opposition (Toronto FC, Sporting KC and Atlanta United). With the Union getting star attacker Marco Fabian back after suspension, it is safe to assume that Picault will have better service against Columbus and could possibly score his first goal of the season
Tier 1 midfield: Damir Kreilach, Real Salt Lake
Kreilach had an incredible season last year scoring 15 goals, and he was especially good when filling the void RSL had at center forward. This season he is playing further down at midfield and although he is still very good for fantasy, the number of goals are probably going to go down. This is a difficult matchup against an LAFC team that hasn't lost this season yet and they only lost one game at home last year. But we know Kreilach is capable of a big game and does have upside.
Tier 2 midfield: Carles Gil, New England Revolution
The Spanish midfielder has hit the ground running with three goals in two matches for the Revs. Moving freely in the attack, the ex Deportivo La Coruna and Aston Villa player he has become the centerpiece of New England's attack and is also taking corner kicks and penalty kicks. The Revs are hosting expansion team FC Cincinnati, who looked great in their first, emotional home match but they are still a bunch of guys that come from other teams in the league or abroad that are trying to learn how to play together. I think Carles Gil is a top-two fantasy option in the slate and I am going to struggle between him and Vela when it comes to picking a captain.
Tier 3 midfield: Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution or Roland Lamah, FC Cincinnati
For Tier 3, we are going to the last match of the week and looking first at Diego Fagundez in a great matchup. If he doesn't start, Roland Lamah would be serviceable for fantasy considering that he has a share of set pieces and boatloads of erratic talent. The Belgian winger has usually never lived up to his potential but in some matches he looks like the world-class player he was expected to be.
Tier 1 defender: Walker Zimmerman, LAFC
There are only two players to choose in this tier: Walker Zimmerman and Gaston Sauro. I'm going to side with the one playing at home, since he will have more opportunities to pass and tackle.
Tier 2 defender: Kendall Waston, FC Cincinnati
Besides offensive stats and passes, your defenders can score a lot of fantasy points with blocked shots and clearances. Which defenders have more opportunities to earn clearances and blocked shots? The ones playing for underdogs ... especially away from home. As a side note, since ESPN does not give points to defenders for clean sheets, you do not have to play the home favorite defender, and in most cases the underdog center back would outscore him. Kendall Waston is third in the league in clearances and averages over nine fantasy points per game without goals or assists. The Costa Rican defender is one of the tallest players in the league at 6-foot-5 and he just scored in the previous matchup, and the Revs have one of the smallest CB pairings in the league with no one over 6-foot-2.
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard, Colorado Rapids
I am not sure if Przemyslaw Tyton is going to play on Sunday and Spencer Richey is not available, so my upside pick is Colorado's Tim Howard. The USMNT legend is going to get peppered with shots but FC Dallas does not have polished finishers in their team (all their strikers are quite young). I can easily see a five-save, one-goal-conceded performance with some crosses claimed/punched to get to at least 10 points.