Fantasy Soccer Advice

2022 MLS Fantasy Round 17 Positional Rankings

Heineken Rivalry Week never fails to add to the fantasy hype, and a jam-packed Round 17 looks to be no different.

Fantasy managers have several new toys to tinker with in the form of Giorgio Chiellini, Cucho Hernandez and Hector Herrera, to name a few. While some of the new acquisitions could take time to become fantasy-relevant, there are multiple high-profile players that could make an impact right away.

Letā€™s zero in on the top plays and values at each position that could help your side make some moves up the standings.

Get more advice on the MLS Fantasy Insider Round 17 preview podcast

Goalkeepers

Andre Blake landed on the Round 16 Dream Team, leading all goalkeepers with 17 points after stopping a penalty kick and shutting out the Columbus Crew last time out.

The Philadelphia Union host a D.C. United side Friday night (7:30 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes) that erupted for five goals out of nowhere in their last outing. But that should be little reason to hesitate considering the Union have conceded a league-low 13 goals and are one of just two teams still unbeaten at home in 2022.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Andre Blake
PHI
vs. DC
$9.6
2. Pedro Gallese
ORL
vs. MIA
$6.6
3. Sean Johnson
NYC
vs. NE
$9.3
4. Stefan Frei
SEA
vs. POR
$7.9
5. Gabriel Slonina
CHI
vs. CLB
$7.6
Value Goalkeepers
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Sebastian Breza
MTL
vs. SKC
$5.1
2. Cody Cropper
VAN
vs. MIN
$5.9
3. Quentin Westberg
TOR
vs. SJ
$5.6

Defenders

Kai Wagner came through with 13 points last round, and heā€™s now even with NYCFC center back Alexander Callens on 123 points to lead all defenders entering Round 17.

As long as Philly's left back continues to play an integral role on set pieces, heā€™ll continue to be high on the radar as a defender capable of consistently producing both attacking and defensive fantasy points.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Kai Wagner
PHI
vs. DC
$10.8
2. Alexander Callens
NYC
vs. NE
$11.2
3. Justen Glad
RSL
vs. COL
$10.9
4. Nouhou Tolo
SEA
vs. POR
$7.0
5. Giorgio Chiellini
LAFC
vs. LA
$8.5
6. Julian Araujo
LA
at LAFC
$9.8
7. Alex Roldan
SEA
vs. POR
$7.3
8. Ranko Veselinovic
VAN
vs. MIN
$8.6
9. Adam Lundkvist
HOU
vs. DAL
$8.2
10. Guzman Corujo
CLT
vs. NSH
$8.5
Value Defenders
Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Marcus Godinho
VAN
vs. MIN
$5.2
2. Alistair Johnston
MTL
vs. SKC
$5.7
3. Kyle Smith
ORL
vs. MIA
$5.5

Midfielders

Luciano Acosta has been on such a tear that heā€™s unavoidable, even in a tough Saturday night matchup against Eastern Conference frontrunners New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+). He leads the league with 10 assists and has produced a goal or an assist in each of his last nine starts.

At this point, Acosta is worth riding the hot hand until the wheels fall off ā€“Ā and with FC Cincinnati pushing for their first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance, it would be surprising if he fades anytime soon.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Luciano Acosta
CIN
vs. RBNY
$12.5
2. Nicolas Lodeiro
SEA
vs. POR
$10.8
3. Carles Gil
NE
at NYC
$13.9
4. Maxi Moralez
NYC
vs. NE
$10.3
5. Hany Mukhtar
NSH
at CLT
$12.5
6. Emanuel Reynoso
MIN
at VAN
$11.3
7. Lucas Zelarayan
CLB
at CHI
$9.6
8. Sebastian Driussi
ATX
at ATL
$11.1
9. Xherdan Shaqiri
CHI
vs. CLB
$10.8
10. Thiago Almada
ATL
vs. ATX
$10.2
11. Santiago Rodriguez
NYC
vs. NE
$10.1
12. Mauricio Pereyra
ORL
vs. MIA
$11.2
13. Paul Arriola
DAL
at HOU
$10.8
14. Lewis Morgan
RBNY
at CIN
$11.2
15. Facundo Torres
ORL
vs. MIA
$9.5
16. Jamiro Monteiro
SJ
at TOR
$11.5
17. Pablo Ruiz
RSL
vs. COL
$9.5
18. Jonathan Osorio
TOR
vs. SJ
$9.3
19. Cristian Roldan
SEA
vs. POR
$9.6
20. Daniel Gazdag
PHI
vs. DC
$9.4
Value Midfielders
Value Midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Chris Mueller
CHI
vs. CLB
$7.7
2. Felipe Hernandez
SKC
at MTL
$5.8
3. Lassi Lappalainen
MTL
vs. SKC
$5.3

Forwards

This might be an unpopular opinion after missing their last game with a knock, but Carlos Vela is seemingly fully fit and 100% for Fridayā€™s clash with crosstown rival LA Galaxy (10 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes).

The LAFC forward has at least a goal or an assist in all of his last four starts and ā€“ if heā€™s back in the starting lineup ā€“ heā€™s sure to be heavily involved in the latest version of El Trafico.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Carlos Vela
LAFC
vs. LA
$10.1
2. Valentin Castellanos
NYC
vs. NE
$10.4
3. Raul Ruidiaz
SEA
vs. POR
$10.0
4. Cristian Arango
LAFC
vs. LA
$8.7
5. Josef Martinez
ATL
vs. ATX
$10.2
6. Jefferson Savarino
RSL
vs. COL
$9.9
7. Brenner
CIN
vs. RBNY
$7.5
8. Ercan Kara
ORL
vs. MIA
$9.4
9. Luiz Araujo
ATL
vs. ATX
$9.6
10. Chicharito
LA
at LAFC
$8.2
Value Forwards
Value Forwards
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Dejan Joveljic
LA
at LAFC
$6.0
2. Thor Ulfarsson
HOU
vs. DAL
$4.5
3. Andre Shinyashiki
CLT
vs. NSH
$6.3
Captain
Captain
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Carlos Vela
LAFC
vs. LA
$10.1
2. Luciano Acosta
CIN
vs. RBNY
$12.5
3. Nicolas Lodeiro
SEA
vs. POR
$10.8

MLS Fantasy Weekly Winner

Congratulations to MLS Fantasy Manager of the Week, Sean Curtis! Coach Robinhood Fraser loaded up on DGW players, including a whopping 46 points from captain Luciano Acosta, to lead all fantasy teams with 187 points. Curtis scored a $150 MLSstore.com gift card for winning the Round 16 prize.

22MLS Fantasy MOTW W16