With the halfway point in the 2016 Major League Soccer season now firmly in the rear-view mirror, ESPN FC asked Jeff Carlisle, Doug McIntyre, Jason Davis and Graham Parker which players have been playing at MVP levels but won't get any MVP love come season's end.
Sacha Kljestan | Midfield | New York Red Bulls
It's been an up-and-down season for the New York Red Bulls. A winless streak was only made worse by the trade that sent Lloyd Sam to D.C. United and broke up the midfield quintet that drove the team to the 2015 Supporters' Shield. Without any immediate announcement about a notional upgrade for Sam, the Red Bulls attack looked desperate for a spark in their 0-0 draw against Portland Timbers last weekend.
If the Red Bulls hope to get back on track, movement and assists from Kljestan will be the difference between a predictable attack and one that can press and move in order to overwhelm opponents. The team goes places when Kljestan is on form. When he's not, they're left revving their engines. He's been asked to compensate for a lot this year, and his assist tally -- he's recorded 10 in 19 games -- tells you how he's responded.
-- Graham Parker (@KidWeil)
Shkelzen Gashi | Forward | Colorado Rapids
Before they traded for Jermaine Jones and long before throwing big money at Tim Howard, the Colorado Rapids signed attacker Shkelzen Gashi from FC Basel in Switzerland. For many reasons, including but not limited to the league he came from, Gashi's addition caused only a few ripples across MLS. That was the case despite Gashi's resume as the Swiss league's leading score for each of the previous two seasons.
The signing is proving to be an inspired one on the part of Paul Bravo and Pablo Mastroeni. What Gashi lacked in profile, he has more than made up for in contributions to the cause. It's difficult to pick out just one or two players to highlight when the Rapids' success this season is clearly down to a complete team effort, but Gashi certainly deserves some focus.
While his stats don't jump off the page -- two goals and four assists in 12 games -- he's in the league's top 10 in key passes per game. The only major hit on his resume for the best under-the-radar player so for in 2016 is the time he missed away with Albania at the European Championship.
Gashi is a consistent threat to score, a benefit of playing a natural forward in the midfield. Cutting in from the left, Gashi uses his right foot to pepper the opponents' net with shots. If not for a few fantastic saves on Gashi efforts so far this season, the Albanian would have a handful more goals to go along with the pair he's tallied so far. It might be his link-up play and passing in the final third that makes him so important to the Rapids, however, as evidenced by the ball he played to Kevin Doyle for a Rapids goal against Vancouver last weekend.
He plays below the radar because Jones and Howard have dominated the headlines, but Gashi deserves recognition as one of the best in MLS so far in 2016.
-- Jason Davis (@davisjsn)
Sam Cronin | Midfield | Colorado Rapids
Colorado's defense was breached a couple of times last weekend in the 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps, but the Rapids still have the best defensive record in the league, having conceded an absurdly low 13 goals in 18 games. And while the backline deserves immense credit, the midfield shield in front of it has been outstanding. With that in mind, I'll go with Sam Cronin as the under-the-radar best player of the season.
Yes, I could have gone with Micheal Azira, who has also been outstanding -- claiming him in the waiver draft might qualify as the steal of the season, but I digress. Cronin's stats don't necessarily dazzle the eye either, with just one goal and two assists. But the 29-year-old is a glue guy who does it all, and this season he has provided the kind of two-way presence that wins trophies for teams.
Cronin has almost always been a guy who toiled in the shadows, even when he was part of the San Jose Earthquakes team that won the Supporters' Shield in 2012. And when he was traded to Colorado prior to the start of the 2015 season, he receded into the background even more. But with Colorado still averaging the most points per game in the standings (1.89), Cronin should start to get some attention again.
-- Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle)
Mauro Diaz | Midfield | FC Dallas
Let's face it: despite being the best player on the best team in the Western Conference, FC Dallas maestro Mauro Diaz is no shoo-in to be among the three MVP finalists when they're named in early November.
That's just how it goes when you're with FCD, a club that doesn't boast big names and therefore doesn't get mainstream love despite consistently winning games -- Dallas missed out on the 2015 Supporters' Shield on goal difference -- and playing some of the most attractive soccer in MLS. The consequence is that Diaz, Fabian Castillo, Matt Hedges and the rest of coach Oscar Pareja's top men don't always get the recognition that they deserve.
Diaz has been harder to ignore this year, though, his fourth in the league. The 25-year-old Argentinean already has nine assists -- he had 15 in his first three seasons combined -- four of which came on game-winners. He's paced a Dallas attack that is tied for the second-most goals scored in the league.
In short, if FCD are able to get over the hump this year and hoist some silverware after losing to eventual champion Portland Timbers in last year's Western Conference finals, Diaz will probably be the biggest reason why. The MVP finalists will be decided before then, of course, with international stars playing in major markets (think David Villa, Sebastian Giovinco) more likely to be on the list. But if he keeps performing as he has so far, it's Diaz who has the better chance of ending 2016 as a champion.
-- Doug McIntyre (@DougMacESPN)