Week 2 MLS Fantasy Player Picks

A major part of success in Fantasy Soccer, as in life, is planning ahead and it is always good to consider the schedule when making these decisions. Sporting Kansas City won at Seattle last week, at least partially due to the fact that they were up a man for most of the match. They have three strong fixtures at home coming right up, Vancouver, Toronto, Real Salt Lake. Take a good look at their team. Home fixtures in MLS are fantasy gold. On the other side Orlando has an attractive fixture at home against Chicago, but after that, not so much. Consider also, the teams with Double Game weeks in GW four, Dallas, DC United, New England and Real Salt Lake. Consider this factor also, when making your decisions.

Game week 6 offers 6 Double Game week matches. It might be a good time to think about using that first wild card. Anyway, let's go ahead and take a look at the Week 2 selections.

Goalkeepers

Most of us thought that our Number 1 should be either Jesse Gonzalez or David Ousted. Those of us who decided to go with Gonzalez were rewarded and he is worth considering heading to the Texas rivalry match down in Houston. Goalkeepers are not nearly as subject to rotation with the DGWs in week 4 and 6 approaching.

Brian Rowe was subbed in for the injured Dan Kennedy, and is expected to start this week at Colorado also. At only 4.6, he is a bargain, allowing one to splash a bit more cash in the other players.

Tim Melia is 5.5 and has three home fixtures coming up. Vancouver has struggled on the road in their MLS history, but looked dangerous despite losing at home to Montreal.

Defenders

Dallas kept a clean sheet against a woeful Philadelphia side and are worth considering at Houston. Matt Hedges, though expensive at 9.1, is the one least subject to rotation. Atiba Harris, Walker Zimmerman and Maynor Figueroa appear to be the early starters, with surprise absentee Zach Lloyd waiting in the wings. Again, there will be some frustrating rotation here, so if you can wait for lineups to come out before making changes that would be ideal.

Portugese defender Nuno Coelho scored the goal for Sporting Kansas City at Seattle and may have gained the starting position ahead of Ike Opara. At 7.7 he still might be a bargain starting against Vancouver.

Columbus Crew new defender, Harrison Afful, has two attractive matches at home against Philadelphia and on the road at Chicago. He is only 7.0.

For those of us who like cheap defenders, consider the aforementioned Harris at 6.1, Amadou Dia for SKC at 6.1 or Colorado's Axel Sjoberg or Marlon Hairston for 5.5 and 5.0, respectively.

Midfielders

Ignacio Piatti was spectacular at Vancouver delivering 20 points with a goal and an assist. This is Montreal's home opener against the Red Bulls, who lost their own home opener against Toronto.

Diego Fagundez appears to have locked down a starting position early this season. New England host DC United who lost 4-1 to the Galaxy on the road.

Mauro Diaz and Diego Valeri both delivered the goods in their season opener at home. They both travel this week, Diaz to Houston and Valeri to San Jose.

If you are considering a budget midfielder, take a look at Tommy McNamara at 7.2, Jordi Quintilla at 5.6 for RSL or Tsubasa Endoh for Toronto at 5.5.

Forwards

Sebastian Giovinco -  get him, if you do not already have him. Trust me.

Mike Magee might be a steal at 7.2, playing at Colorado after scoring 17 fantasy points in the second half for LA.

Kei Kamara has two attractive fixtures approaching and even dropped a bit this week to 10.9.

And again for the bargain minded, take a look at Colorado's Dominique Badji at 5.0 or goalscorers Khiry Shelton (6.1) or Tony Taylor (5.5) for New York City FC.

Just a note on my own squad, I dropped David Accam and Atiba Harris on Saturday evening and added Diego Valeri and Tommy Redding. It is always a great idea to wait until the lineups are announced, if possible, to make those transfers.

It was a rollercoaster of a day for me Sunday finishing with 85 points and an overall rank of 1283. Fortunately, this is better than my usual starts. I am usually considering my wild card by this point, lol.

My team currently looks like it did last week. Gonzalez, Redding, Parker, Francis, Diaz, Valeri, Javi Morales, P. Morales, Sacha Kljestan, David Villa and Giovinco. Right now, I am considering adding two of Piatti, Accam, Harris and Magee.

So, anyway, is there anyone else you are considering? How did your team do and most importantly, what are your thoughts as you head forward?

Good luck to all in Game week 2.

Charles