MLS Fantasy Rankings: Week 4

Written by

JD Bazzo

Updated on March 23, 2019 9:54AM EST

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The rankings below are based on Major League Soccer's official fantasy game and cover all games in Week 4. 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.

MATCHES (EDT)

Saturday, 5:55 pm: FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids
Saturday, 7:30 pm: New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando City SC
Saturday, 7:30 pm: Philadelphia Union vs. Columbus Crew
Saturday, 10:30 pm: Los Angeles Football Club vs. Real Salt Lake
Sunday, 4:00 pm: New England Revolution vs. FC Cincinnati

For detailed stats and odds, check out the MLS Fantasy: Week 4 Cheat Sheet.

Forwards
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. RSL	11.8	Early favorite for MVP gets what will be one of his friendliest matchups of the entire season? Count me in.
2	Adama Diomande	LAFC v. RSL	9.8	With Christian Ramirez called in to the USMNT, and Josh Perez with the U-23s, Bob Bradley looks like he will be forced to give us our Dio start! He has scored a lot of goals in a short amount of MLS minutes.
3	Bradley Wright-Phillips	NYRB v. ORL	10.8	He's a little expensive for what he brings to the table, but there are far worse things than playing a goal-dependent forward against Orlando.
4	Latif Blessing	LAFC v. RSL	6.9	With international callups and injuries ever-present in the LAFC midfield, Blessing could once more be thrust into a midfield role that he excelled in last week.
5	Diego Rossi	LAFC v. RSL	9.1	Blessing is safer and cheaper but Rossi could pack a much bigger punch. He'll probably be the odd man out in many fantasy lineups this week, but should be in consideration.
6	Cristian Penilla	NE v. FCC	8.5	For my sanity, I try to avoid entering the mind of Brad Friedel on a weekly basis, but I'm pretty sure Penilla should be playing more than 45 and 6 minutes in the previous two matches. With his talent, and the lackthereof elsewhere on the roster, Penilla needs to be a focal point each week. I'd like to think Friedel gets him going at home against the expansion side.
7	Dominique Badji	DAL v. COL	6.5	Sometimes he looks like he belongs among MLS forwards. Sometimes he puts the Bad in Badji. The motivation could be here against his former team, though.
8	Fafa Picault	PHI v. CLB	6.9	With virtually zero other options, either Fafa or Accam will have to move in from the wing to the #9 spot (or technically in Accam's case, move from the bench to the #9).
9	Dom Dwyer	ORL at NYRB	9.5
10	Kei Kamara	COL at DAL	9.3	Even with Dallas missing their two most defensive midfielders, I'm not keen on the Rapids road attack.
11	Teal Bunbury	NE v. FCC	6.7	The third forward spot is wide open for whatever catches your eye this week. If you want to leave it open for one of Teal/Agudelo/Caicedo against FCC, I'm cool with that.
12	Juan Agudelo	NE v. FCC	5.5
13	David Accam	PHI v. CLB	5.3
14	Patrick Mullins	CLB at PHI	5.5	If ever there was an advertisement for Philadelphia defenders...
15	Kekuta Manneh	FCC at NE	5.9
16	Andre Shinyashiki	COL at DAL	4.7	With Rubio gone for the week, we could get another look at the promising rookie.
17	Mathias Jorgensen	NYRB v. ORL	6.7
18	Juan Caicedo	NE v. FCC	8.1
19	Zdenek Ondrasek	DAL v. COL	7.5
20	JJ Williams	CLB at PHI	4.5	Better than Patrick Mullins at this point, but Porter will probably opt to start the veteran.

Midfielders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Daniel Royer	NYRB v. ORL	8.0	Lacks the upside of Gil, but benefits from not being on a dreadful team led by the MLS version of Jon Gruden.
2	Carles Gil	NE v. FCC	9.7	You'd like to see more bonus points through three matches from a team's midfield focal point, but against FCC the Revs will have chances and Gil is the best bet to be involved. I wouldn't overthink this one unless you truly find his price to be prohibitive to the rest of your plans.
3	~~Marco Fabian~~	~~PHI v. CLB~~	~~9.0~~	Rested (because he stepped on someone), at home, and playing a team missing their foundational defensive midfielder and goalkeeper. Fabian was already doing the heavy lifting for Philadelphia and will be tasked with even more this week.
4	Lee Nguyen	LAFC v. RSL	8.2	It's uncertain whether he will be ready to play, but if he is, the matchup is tantalizing. RSL have a laundry list of absences at all levels of the field and LAFC will be happy to exact revenge on Mike Petke's side for last year's shocking playoff defeat.
5	Marc Rzatkowski	NYRB v. ORL	7.5	Rza put in the work last week with an assist and two key passes, but just as importantly six tackles, seven interceptions, nine recoveries, and six crosses (only two accurate). The bonus point potential coupled with a nice fixture against visiting Orlando make Rza a great value this week. The only problem is figuring out which three Red Bulls to prioritize.
6	Nani	ORL at NYRB	9.2	His team will likely be dominated, but Nani has shown enough quality to keep a high rank. He only needs a few chances to grab some points.
7	Federico Higuain	CLB at PHI	9.4	He's not the fantasy force he once was, but against a Union side missing a couple of pieces, Pipa could certainly turn up with a vintage performance. Visiting Philly has never seemed to affect him in the past.
8	Pedro Santos	CLB at PHI	7.5	Caleb Porter and his system already look to have rejuvenated Santos. He could very well prove to have more upside than Higuain most gameweeks.
9	Paxton Pomykal	DAL v. COL	6.7	He'll be a lock for many lineups thanks to his affordable price. Note that both Gruezo and Acosta are missing from Dallas' go-to midfield trio.
10	Michael Barrios	DAL v. COL	7.6
11	Diego Fagundez	DAL v. COL	6.8	The early sub is a constant risk with Fagundez under Friedel but this is a great price for somebody we used to pay 9.0+ for with relative confidence.
12	Alex Muyl	NYRB v. ORL	6.7	Hustle per $ is off the charts with Muyl, but predicting when his production will come is pretty difficult. If you're cool with a handful of safe points and the price rise, go for it!
13	Andre Horta	LAFC v. RSL	7.5	This may or may not be useful, but on the off chance Horta starts (10-25%?) this is where I'd rank him. Coming back from a quad injury and hasn't unlocked his potential in LA yet, but he showed some signs in the preseason and LAFC need some bodies in the midfield - especially if Lee Nguyen isn't ready.
14	Santiago Mosquera	DAL v. COL	7.0
15	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC v. RSL	6.9	It's important to note that these player rankings don't factor in price or opportunity cost. Realistically, using Atuesta in one of your 3 LAFC slots would be pretty foolish this week with attacking upside above him in the lineup and the best clean sheet chances of the weekend behind him.
16	Kenny Saief	FCC at NE	7.6
17	Haris Medunjanin	PHI v. CLB	7.8	Five bonus points in his only home match of the season. Medunjanin has been exposed on the defensive side of the ball lately, but he can still lasso a handful of fantasy points in the attack.
18	Leonardo Bertone	FCC at NE	7.5
19	Sean Davis	NYRB v. ORL	7.8	Insert a slightly less strong version of the Atuesta comment above, here
20	Artur	CLB at PHI	7.9	Not all bonus point machines are created equal. Give me some offensive upside if I'm spending 8.0.

Defenders
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Reto Ziegler	DAL v. COL	6.7	Good clean sheet chance and if you have been living under a rock, he's taking their penalty kicks!
2	Walker Zimmerman	LAFC v. RSL	7.3	Ticks all of the boxes you want in a fantasy defender.
3	Eddie Segura	LAFC v. RSL	5.6	Holds his own in the bonus point categories, but not quite as dominant as Zimmerman.
4	Tim Parker	NYRB v. ORL	6.3	With Aaron Long on national team duty, Parker will pair up with former Orlando City Lion Amro Tarek. Red Bulls should have a good day, but it's no guarantee these CBs have instant chemistry and grab the clean sheet.
5	Steven Beitashour	LAFC v. RSL	5.9	May or may not be ready following his latest concussion.
6	Jordan Harvey	LAFC v. RSL	5.5	A clean sheet play with hope for an assist. Doesn't bring much else to the table.
7	Gaston Sauro	CLB at PHI	6.0	With a certain price rise and a recent penchant for goalscoring, you could do worse than Sauro. That said, we've got a team on the road missing some key pieces and another goal is unlikely so he's far from a lock.
8	Matt Hedges	DAL v. COL	7.5
9	Amro Tarek	NYRB v. ORL	4.8	With Murillo and Long both out for New York this week, we've got a pair of cheap defenders here. Assuming he is the fill-in Tarek will get you safer bonus points and...
10	Kyle Duncan	NYRB v. ORL	5.2	...Duncan will bring some attacking upside from the fullback spot.
11	Edgar Castillo	NE v. FCC	5.6	Not a bad fallback if you haven't gotten your bench clean sheets by the week's final match, but New England haven't done much to suggest they can keep a clean sheet. Cincy are missing Adi, Mattocks, Cruz, and Waston though.
12	Ryan Hollingshead	DAL v. COL	5.8
13	Marquinhos Pedroso	DAL v. COL	4.6	Reggie Cannon is back in training, but Pedroso may start one more week and the savings would be nice for the switcheroo.
14	Antonio Delamea	NE v. FCC	5.4
15	Michael Mancienne	NE v. FCC	6.0
16	Harrison Afful	NYRB v. ORL	7.7
17	Connor Lade	NYRB v. ORL	4.5
18	Nick Hagglund	FCC at NE	5.6	With Waston out, it makes sense for FCC to target their other elite set piece threat. Hagglund is nearly as imposing as the Costa Rican.
19	Auston Trusty	PHI v. CLB	5.6
20	Jonathan Mensah	CLB at PHI	6.9	After starting his MLS career with some rough patches, Mensah has been a high-quality player for an entire year now. The bonus points don't come as frequently as you'd like, though, so it's hard to justify the cost when Sauro is less.

Goalkeepers
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Tyler Miller	LAFC v. RSL	5.7	The only problem with Miller is that he's limiting you to two LAFC field players.
2	Luis Robles	NYRB v. ORL	5.9
3	Jimmy Maurer	DAL v. COL	4.5	An ideal first part of a keeperoo thanks to Jesse Gonzalez's call-up.
4	Brad Knighton	NE v. FCC	4.7
5	Joe Bendik	CLB at PHI	4.5	I trust the Columbus defense, even minus a few pieces, on the road over Philly at home. Bendik doesn't bring an ideal skill set but he's logged minutes in this league and has a shot at a cheap clean sheet.
6	Carlos Coronel	PHI v. CLB	4.5	Not 100% certain he will fill-in for Andre Blake over Freese, but either will work here.
7	Tim Howard	COL at DAL	5.9
8	Spencer Richey	FCC at NE	5.3	Deserved his team of the week nod for some heroics against the Timbers. Let's see if he can keep it up.
9	Nick Rimando	RSL at LAFC	6.0
10	Brian Rowe	LAFC v. RSL	4.7

Value Rankings
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above)
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Vincent Bezecourt	NYRB v. ORL	5.5	Everyone in the starting lineup is in play for New York Red Bulls.
2	Kellyn Acosta	COL at DAL	6.5	Revenge game narrative for a player that can tally a few bonus points with offensive upside.
3	Robinho	CLB at PHI	5.3	Deservedly may have usurped Meram on the wing.
4	Dillon Serna	COL at DAL	6.4	Finally healthy, Serna has flashed that promise he had several seasons ago and brought some energy to the Rapids.
5	Emmanuel Ledesma	FCC at NE	6.7	Should step into the midfield and be tasked with creating some offense.
6	Sebastian Saucedo	RSL at LAFC	4.9	I've long been a Bofo fan, but this is not the ideal time for him to get a start.
7	Jacori Hayes	DAL v. COL	4.7
8	Josh Williams	CLB at PHI	4.5	Caleb Porter may pull out the 3-man back line he tested in the preseason and that'd make Williams or Abubakar a decent look.
9	Forrest Lasso	FCC at NE	4.5	Should be stepping into some big Waston-sized shoes, but he's 6'5" too!
10	Brandon Bye	NE v. FCC	4.4	He'll be a cheap fallback for a lot of people, and I'm not a huge fan, but his teammates may help him earn a clean sheet.

Captain Rankings
Rank	Player	Matchup	Price	Notes
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC v. RSL	11.8	RotoWire could train a monkey to make the captain pick this week.
2	Carles Gil	NE v. FCC	9.7	While I ranked Royer higher in the standard midfield rankings, Gil pips him in the Captain rankings because I prefer his upside. If you're going to gamble and keep the armband away from Vela, you're chasing more than a solid Royer outing.
3	Daniel Royer	NYRB v. ORL	8.0	Great way to kickoff his MLS regular season, but let's not let recency bias overreact to one big match.
4	Adama Diomande	LAFC v. RSL	9.8	Could easily have ranked him second if not for playing time concerns. Diego Rossi is also an interesting pivot to a Vela (C).
5	Marco Fabian	PHI v. CLB	9.0	He's the first guy Philly look to when they have the ball, he's taking set pieces, ripping shots, and already has attempted two penalty kicks this season. He's got the upside you want in a captain.